Abstracts

RATIONALE: This study determined if children with complex partial seizures (CPS) and primary generalized epilepsy with absence (PGE), who have a psychiatric diagnosis, received psychiatric treatment. It also examined the demographic, cognitive, linguistic, behavioral and seizure-related variables associated with psychiatric treatment in those children with a psychiatric diagnosis.At the end of this activity, the participants should be able to discuss unmet mental health needs in pediatric epilepsy.
METHODS: The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS), the Child Behavior Checklist, the Test of Language Development and the WISC-R were administered to 62 CPS and 52 PGE children aged 5 to 16. A DSM-IV diagnosis and information regarding psychiatric treatment were derived from the K-SADS.
RESULTS: Although approximately 60% of the subjects had a DSM-IV psychiatric diagnosis, more than 60% received no psychiatric treatment. Absence of psychiatric care was associated with younger age, female gender, less parental education, shorter duration of epilepsy, and the presence of a single psychiatric diagnosis or an affective/anxiety diagnosis.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate unmet mental health need in a large sample of CPS and PGE children. The findings underscore the importance of making parents and clinicians aware of the mental health needs of children with epilepsy, particularly if they are girls, younger children, or have recent onset of their seizure disorder.
[Supported by: This study was supported by NINDS grant 1 RO1 NS 32070 (R. C)]