Abstracts

Rationale: Birth weight is an important indicator of prenatal/in-utero environment. Variations in birth weight have been reportedly associated with risks for cognitive problems. Prior published studies by us have validated the NLSCY survey dataset as a source of information on childhood epilepsy.Methods: We analyzed data from cycle 1-5 of Canada’s National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth for differences in birth weight, PPVT-R scores in 4-5 year old children with reported to have epilepsy with a control group without epilepsy. Prevalence of epilepsy in this dataset has been previously reported and published.Results: There were 32,900 children in the pooled sample from cycles1-5, 11,327 (34.4% 4 yrs.), 21,573 (65.6%, 5 yrs.). There was missing data on 39.9% (13,120 children) on the ""epilepsy"" and ""gestation"" variables. In the remaining 19780 children, the M:F ratio was(10053:9729; 30.6%:29.6%), and birth weight was (mean 3.423, SD 0.58570 kg). 54.1% of children were full term, while 6.2% of children were preterm (<37 weeks). There were 20 children with reported epilepsy, while 19760 children did not report epilepsy. In a linear regression analysis, birth weight (centered around the mean) was a significant predictor of epilepsy in this sample. Using logistic regression,with PPVT_R scores as a dependent variable; birth weight, gender and epilepsy were statistically significant predictor variables(p<0.05).Conclusions: In this NLSCY sample of 4-5 year olds with epilepsy, birth weight appears to be significantly related to both epilepsy and academic school readiness as measured by the PPVT-R. The data suggest that abnormal prenatal environment influences both childhood onset epilepsy and cognition suggesting a need for additional studies to explore this relationship.