Background: Epilepsy among children is a common neurological disorder and may have a major impact on children development though epidemiological studies are limited.
Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of idiopathic epilepsy among primary school children in Qena City, Egypt. Patients and methods: All primary schools were approached; Students were asked to complete prepared validated questionnaires. 4218 children aged 6-12 years old were screened, out of them 1428 males and 1315 females returned the questionnaires thoroughly fulfilled. Positive cases were subjected to detailed history, neurological examination, electroencephalography and neuroimaging.
Results: 21 cases of epilepsy were identified; lifetime prevalence was 7.6/1000, active epilepsy prevalence was 5.8/1000. Epilepsy was more common in males (8.4/1000) than females (6.8/1000). Generalized seizures were significantly higher than focal (76.1%, versus 19%) with prevalence 5.8/1000 and 1.4/1000 respectively. 38% of epileptic children were at 6-8 years. The most common age of onset was 6 to < 12 years. Epilepsy was more common among low socioeconomic class in comparison to the others. The Odd`s ratio for Family history of epilepsy, consanguineous marriage of parents and history of febrile seizures had a significant difference to non-epileptic children. All patients receive anti-epileptic drugs; 81% on mono therapy and 19% on poly therapy.
Conclusions: Prevalence of epilepsy among primary school children in Qena city was 7.6/1000, in line with other Egyptian studies and Arab world studies but much higher than most developed countries. Family history of epilepsy, consanguineous marriage of parents and history of febrile seizures were the main risk factors.