Motor and Mental Development of Infants of Mothers with Epilepsy.
Abstract number :
3.242
Submission category :
Year :
2001
Submission ID :
318
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/1/2001 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2001, 06:00 AM
Authors :
S.V. Thomas, DM, Department of Neurology, SCTIMST, Trivandrum, Kerala, India; M.K. Nair, MD, Child Development Center, Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India; B. George, MBBS, Child Develpment Center, Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India; G.L. P
RATIONALE: There is much concern regarding the development of infants born to mothers with epilepsy (IME). This study was carried out to compare the motor and mental development of IME with those of mothers without epilepsy.
METHODS: A cohort of IME being followed up through the Kerala Registry of Epilepsy and Pregnancy were evaluated between 9 [ndash] 24 months of age for motor development quotient (MODQ) and mental development quotient (MEDQ). Age matched infants (born to mothers without epilepsy) drawn from the immunization clinic served as control. The MODQ and MEDQ were also correlated with maternal epilepsy and delivery characteristics, birth weight and APGAR score at 5 minutes.
RESULTS: There were 84 IME, (boys 43, girls 41) with age ranging from 9 to 24 months, who were examined under this protocol. Their mean MODQ was 99.79 [plusminus] 32.82 (range 35.39 [ndash] 167.90) and MEDQ was 90.33 [plusminus] 38.59 (range 30.41 [ndash] 167.47. The corresponding figures for controls were 119.54 [plusminus] 32.73 and 116.00 [plusminus] 33.46 respectively. The MODQ and MEDQ of IME were statistically significantly lower than those of controls (p=0.003 and 0.001 respectively) There was no statistically significant correlation between MODQ or MEDQ and maternal seizure type, birth weight or apgar score at 5 minutes. The 25 centile for MODQ and MEDQ for these IME were 80.0 and 53.7 respectively. There were relatively more low performers ([lt]25th centile) among those delivered by cesarean section (43.5%) compared to normal delivery (17%), and those with mothers of extremes of age at the time of delivery ([lt]21 years or [gt]30 years)
CONCLUSIONS: Motor and mental development of IME appears to be slower than those of age matched controls. However, low performance on development tests was associated with extremes of maternal age and type of delivery rather than maternal epilepsy characteristics.
Support: Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Government of Kerala.