A study of vitamin - D status in epileptic children in age group of 2-15 years

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder of childhood frequently requiring prolonged use of anticonvulsants. This study was done to assess the levels of vitamin D epileptic children. We aimed to describe the prevalence of, and risk factors for vitamin D insufficiency among children with epilepsy.Methods: This prospective observational study included 86 children with age group of 2 to 15 years with epilepsy subjecting them for assessment of 25 OH vitamin D levels by CLEA method.Results: Of total of 86 patients, 65 children (75.5%) had vitamin D levels <20 ng/ml (deficiency). 15 (17.4%) children had vitamin D levels between 21-29ng/ml (insufficiency) and 6 (7.1%) children had vitamin D levels >30ng/ml (sufficiency). Males were more commonly deficient in vitamin D, and vitamin D levels were significantly low in indoor patients. The levels of vitamin D decreased as the duration of anticonvulsant usage increased. No significant co relation was found between monotherapy and polytherapy.Conclusions: We found vitamin D insufficiency to be highly prevalent among our unselected cohort of children with epilepsy. Potential risk factors for low vitamin D were examined, and indoor ambulation and duration of anticonvulsant intake were found to be significant. For children with epilepsy, cerebral palsy and enzyme-inducing AEDs are often cited as risk factors for poor bone health. This high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D suggests that, almost all children with epilepsy are at risk.