Department of Paediatrics, Ebonyi State University, Abakiliki, Nigeria; Department of Paediatrics, University Of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria
Ibekwe, R.C., Department of Paediatrics, Ebonyi State University, Abakiliki, Nigeria; Ojinnaka, N.C., Department of Paediatrics, University Of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria; Iloeje, S.O., Department of Paediatrics, University Of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria
The academic performance and intelligence quotient (IQ) of 50 children with epilepsy aged between 5 and 14 years, attending normal primary schools in Enugu, were compared with those of their non-epileptic classmates. The academic performance was assessed using the overall scores achieved in terminal examinations in the 2001-2002 academic year. IQ was assessed using the Draw-A-person Test. The influences of school absence rate, Rutter behavioural scores, socio-economic status and seizure-related variables on academic performance were then determined. Twenty-six percent of the children with epilepsy had a low overall score, and therefore poor academic performance, compared with 16% of the controls (p = 0.35). The mean IQ of the children with epilepsy was significantly lower than that of the controls (p = 0.02). The mean school absence rate for the children with epilepsy was significantly higher than that of the controls (p = 0.001). The mean Rutter score of the children with epilepsy was significantly higher than that for the controls (p = 0.001). On multiple linear regression analysis, only IQ (p = 0.01) and seizure type (p = 0.03) had significant predictive effects as risk factors for low overall scores and poor academic performance. It is concluded that the academic performance of epileptic children is influenced by their IQ and type of seizures rather than by other seizure variables or socio-demographic characteristics. © The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
anticonvulsive agent; carbamazepine; ethosuximide; nitrazepam; phenobarbital; valproic acid; absence; absenteeism; academic achievement; adolescent; article; atonic seizure; child; childhood disease; clinical article; complex partial seizure; controlled study; demography; epilepsy; female; focal epilepsy; human; intelligence quotient; male; mixed seizure; monotherapy; multiple linear regression analysis; Nigeria; prediction; risk factor; scoring system; social class; tonic clonic seizure; Adolescent; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Educational Status; Epilepsy; Female; Humans; Intelligence; Linear Models; Male; Multivariate Analysis; Nigeria; Risk Factors; Underachievement