Assessment of behavior and sleep in school-age children with generalized epilepsy

Abstract

Background Epilepsy affects 1% of the human population. Sleep disorders frequently coexist in patients with epilepsy. Whether sleep affects epilepsy or epilepsy modifies sleep has been extensively evaluated, but very little literature exists on the mutual interaction of epilepsy and sleep problems. Objective and aims To assess the sleep pattern and behavior in school age children with generalized epilepsy. Methods The current study was comparative case control study was carried on 60 school aged children 30 of them had generalized epilepsy on carbamazepine presented to neuropsychiatry department in suez canal university hospital and other 30 healthy children had no chronic illness, The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and Vanderbilt assessment scale were applied on both groups. Results the current study showed that epileptic children have a statistically significant difference in breathing problem like snoring ( P =0.001), epileptic children had more common daytime sleepiness problem ( P =0.002). Behavioral problems were more common in epileptic children like ADHD ( P -value=0.001), anxiety and depression were highly frequent in epileptic children than normal children ( P -value=0.001) and schoolastic achievement was more problematic in epileptic children. Conclusions Epileptic children are more vulnerable to sleep problems, behavioral problems and poor schoolastic achievement is more common in epileptic children. Controlled fits and monotherapy decreased the effect of epilepsy in all aspects.