Behavioral comorbidity in children and adolescents with epilepsy

This cross sectional study assessed the prevalence of behavioral comorbidity and its association with epilepsy-related factors in children and adolescents with epilepsy. One hundred consecutive patients with active epilepsy, aged 6-16 years, were screened for behavioral comorbidity using the Child Behavior Checklist and those who qualified as having behavioral comorbidity were compared with those who did not have it. Behavioral comorbidity was found in 43 of 100 participants. Being treated with antiepileptic drug polytherapy (odds ratio 6.3, 95% confidence interval 1.4-17.3, p = 0.01) independently predicted behavioral comorbidity in the patients studied. The demonstrated high frequency of behavioral comorbidity in children with epilepsy suggests that pediatricians and pediatric neurologists should be sensitive to this fact in order to identify and manage behavioral comorbidity in children with epilepsy.