Abstracts

RATIONALE: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been associated with childhood epilepsy with prevalence figures ranging from 8% to 77% depending on the sample studied and the criteria used for diagnosis. In the general population, the prevalence of ADHD is approximately 5% with 85% of the affected children having the combined or hyperactive type of ADHD. METHODS: As part of a larger study of behavioral problems in children with epilepsy, we assessed 104 children for evidence of ADHD. The children were 9-14 years of age and had at least a 6-month history of epilepsy. The primary caretaker completed both the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI) or Adolescent Symptom Inventory-4 (ASI). RESULTS: On the CBCL, the attention problem t-score was 67.2 (SD 11.3). On the CSI or ASI, 14/103 children met DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, combined type, 22/103 ADHD, predominantly inattentive type, and 2/103 for ADHD, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type. There was significant correlation between the CBCL attention score and inattention (r= 0.72) and hyperactivity-impulsivity (r= 0.61). CONCLUSIONS: Children with epilepsy are at risk for symptoms of ADHD. They differ from other samples of children with ADHD by the higher number of children with inattentive type ADHD. (Supported by NR04536)