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FRIDAY, June 14, 2019 (HealthDay News) — There is an increased risk for behavioral problems in children of mothers with epilepsy who take common antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy, according to a study published online June 5 in Epilepsia<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Yfke Huber-Mollema, from the University of Amsterdam, and colleagues used the Child Behavior Checklist and the Social Emotional Questionnaire to examine behavioral problems in 26 valproate (VPA)-exposed children versus 37 children exposed to carbamazepine (CBZ), 88 to lamotrigine (LTG), and 30 to levetiracetam (LEV).<\/p>\n
The researchers noted high percentages of children with clinically relevant behavior problems across all four antiepileptic drug exposure groups (32 percent of VPA-exposed children, 14 percent of CBZ, 16 percent of LTG, and 14 percent of LEV). VPA-exposed children had significantly more social problems than those exposed to LTG or LEV and significantly more attention problems than LEV-exposed children when adjusting for potential confounders. Compared with LEV-exposed children, LTG-exposed children had significantly more attention deficit behavior but significantly less anxious behavior.<\/p>\n
“It is important that prenatally antiepileptic drug-exposed children are regularly screened for behavioral problems so that appropriate help can be provided,” the authors write.<\/p>\n