Epilepsy, birth weight and academic school readiness in Canadian children: Data from the national longitudinal study of children and youth

- Survey data used to model relationship between birth weight, epilepsy and cognition.
- Low birth weight is associated with higher odds of having epilepsy.
- Higher birth weight carries a protective effect on performance at PPVT-R scores at school entry.
- Maternal health (smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, gender) may indirectly influence risk of epilepsy.

PurposeBirth weight is an important indicator of prenatal/in-utero environment. Variations in birth weight have been reportedly associated with risks for cognitive problems. The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) dataset was explored to examine relationships between birth weight, academic school readiness and epilepsy.MethodsA population based sample of 32,900 children of the NLSCY were analyzed to examine associations between birth weight, and school readiness scores in 4-5-year-old children. Logistic and Linear regression was used to examine associations between having epilepsy and these outcomes. Gestation data was available on 19,867 children, full-term children represented 89.67% (gestation > 259 days), while 10.33% of children were premature (gestation <258 days). There were 20 children with reported epilepsy in the sample. Effects of confounding variables (diabetes in pregnancy, smoking in pregnancy, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and gender of the infant) on birth weight and epilepsy were controlled using a separate structural equation model.ResultsLogistic regression analysis identified an association between epilepsy and lower birth weights, as well as an association between lower birth weight, having epilepsy and lower PPVT-R Scores. Model results show the relationship between low birth weight and epilepsy remains statistically significant even when controlling for the influence of afore mentioned confounding variables.ConclusionLow birth weight appears to be associated with both epilepsy and academic school readiness. The data suggest that an abnormal prenatal environment can influence both childhood onset of epilepsy and cognition. Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to verify this relationship in detail.