Purpose: ADHD is reported as a frequent comorbidity in pediatric epilepsy. We aimed to clarify the prevalence of ADHD, its neurological correlates and the role of ADHD in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with severe epilepsy.
Method: Data from the ADHD Rating Scale-IV (ADHD-RS-IV) from 203 children (mean age = 11.8, SD=3.8) from a tertiary center serving children with severe epilepsy were reviewed.
Results: Inattention was frequently elevated in the sample (40% vs. 18% for hyperactivity-impulsivity). Age of onset, epilepsy duration, and seizure frequency were not related to severity of inattention or hyperactivity-impulsivity. Over 60% of children met screening criteria for ADHD-Inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) or ADHD-Combined Inattentive/Hyperactive-Impulsive subtype (ADHD-C). Compared to ADHD-I, ADHD-C was associated with earlier onset of seizures, generalized epilepsy, lower adaptive level, and in normally developing children, a higher degree of intractability compared to ADHD-I. ADHD-I was more prevalent in localization-related epilepsy, and there was a trend for a higher use of AEDs with cognitive side effects in this group. ADHD was associated with poor HRQOL: children with ADHD-I and ADHD-C had a two- and four-fold likelihood of low HRQOL, respectively, compared to non-ADHD children.
Conclusions: Children seen at tertiary care centers for severe epilepsy are at high risk for attention problems and ADHD, and ADHD is a significant predictor of poor HRQOL in epilepsy, particularly in the case of ADHD-C. ADHD occurring in the context of severe epilepsy appears to be associated with specific neurological characteristics, which has implications for comorbidity models of ADHD and epilepsy.