Premium
Febrile seizures and behavioural and cognitive outcomes in preschool children: the Generation R Study
Author(s) -
VISSER ANNEMARIE M,
JADDOE VINCENT WV,
GHASSABIAN AKHGAR,
SCHENK JACQUELINE J,
VERHULST FRANK C,
HOFMAN ALBERT,
TIEMEIER HENNING,
MOLL HENRIETTE A,
ARTS WILLEM FRANS M
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2012.04405.x
Subject(s) - pediatrics , psychology , executive functions , cognition , language development , odds ratio , population , febrile seizure , cohort study , checklist , medicine , psychiatry , epilepsy , developmental psychology , environmental health , pathology , cognitive psychology
Aim General developmental outcome is known to be good in school‐aged children who experienced febrile seizures. We examined cognitive and behavioural outcomes in preschool children with febrile seizures, including language and executive functioning outcomes. Method This work was performed in the Generation R Study, a population‐based cohort study in Rotterdam from early fetal life onwards. Information about the occurrence of febrile seizures was collected by questionnaires at the ages of 1, 2, and 3 years. At the age of 3 years, behaviour and emotion were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist. Information on expressive language development was obtained by the Language Development Survey at the age of 2 years 6 months. To assess executive functioning, parents completed the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Preschool Version when their children were 4 years old. Final analyses were based on 3157 children. Results No associations were found between febrile seizures and the risk of behavioural problems or executive functioning. In contrast to single febrile seizures, recurrent febrile seizures were significantly associated with an increased risk of delayed vocabulary development (odds ratio 3.22, [95% confidence interval 1.30–7.94]). Interpretation Febrile seizures are not associated with problem behaviour or executive functioning in preschool children, but the results suggest that children with recurrent febrile seizures might be at risk for delayed language development.