Associations Between Developmental Disorders, Early Seizure Onset, and Polytherapy in Childhood Epilepsy.

BACKGROUND

Epilepsy patients often exhibit symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics of epilepsy in patients comorbid with ADHD/ASD and those diagnosed with ADHD/ASD after epilepsy onset.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed patients under 18 years of age with epilepsy who visited Tottori University Hospital's Child Neurology Department during 2013-2022. Eligible patients had at least 2 years of follow-up after epilepsy onset and were taking antiseizure medication (ASM). We excluded those with epileptic encephalopathy, abnormal perinatal history, imaging abnormalities, or intellectual disabilities. We compared clinical characteristics between epilepsy patients with and without ADHD/ASD.

RESULTS

Data were collected from 28 patients with ADHD/ASD and 87 without. Patients with ADHD/ASD had an earlier seizure onset (6.6 ± 3.9 vs. 8.7 ± 4.1 years, = 0.018) and were more likely to receive ASM polytherapy (39% vs. 16%, = 0.010). Seizure outcomes did not differ between the two groups. Of the 28 patients with ADHD/ASD, 11 were diagnosed after epilepsy onset, and these patients were more likely to require multiple ASMs than those without ADHD/ASD (45% vs. 16%, = 0.035).

CONCLUSION

Patients comorbid with ADHD/ASD tend to have earlier seizure onset and require more ASM, while those diagnosed with ADHD/ASD after epilepsy onset also often need polytherapy. These findings suggest that severe early epilepsy can lead to developmental disorders, though long-term seizure outcomes are not necessarily poor in these patients.