Abstract
Introduction Children with chronic conditions like epilepsy and diabetes are at increased risk of psychological/psychiatric comorbidities. The UK Paediatric Diabetes Best Practice Tariff mandates annual review for psychological comorbidities and integrated psychology support in children with diabetes. As a result most diabetes clinics within the UK carry an annual assessment of children's' mental health and provide team psychologist's support if required. NICE and SIGN guidance for epilepsy support the assessment of psychological issues. Despite this screening for psychological disorders using validated questionnaires is not routinely conducted in most UK epilepsy clinics. Objectives To compare psychological symptomatology in children with epilepsy and diabetes presenting to our center and make recommendations for screening of mental health in epilepsy. Methods We randomly collected SDQ (Strength and difficulty Questionnaire) from children/carer attending Epilepsy and Diabetic clinics in Norwich. A total of 50 children between ages 4–17 y were included. Data was evaluated by using standard SDQ scoring and results were compared using SDQ categorization. Results As shown below children with epilepsy had high scores in all categories compared to children with diabetes: Total difficulty score 56% vs. 12%, Hyperactivity 52% vs 24%, Emotional disorder 48% vs. 20%, Conduct problem: 36% vs. 16%, Peer difficulties: 48% vs. 0%. Discussion Our data shows a high prevalence of psychological symptoms in children with epilepsy compared to age matched children with diabetes from the same population. To our knowledge, only one other study compares the psychopathology in children with epilepsy and diabetes (35% vs. 11%). CHESS study highlighted that 60% of children with epilepsy met diagnostic criteria for at least 1 behavioral/motor disorder. Conclusion We recommend routine screening/monitoring of psychological comorbidities by using validated questionnaires as a required standard of care for children attending epilepsy clinics. These children should have an easy access to a psychologist, preferably within the team.
Published Version
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