Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between seizure-related features and fatigue levels in children with epilepsy.
Methods: All children were classified into three subgroups based on the state of their seizure control: well-controlled epilepsy (WCE; seizure-free), intermediate-controlled epilepsy (ICE; seizure frequency < 1×/month) and uncontrolled epilepsy (UCE; seizure frequency > 1×/month). Participants were asked to rate on a 7-point scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), how often they felt the ways described by nine items on the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). A higher score is suggestive of greater fatigue.
Results: The study participants comprised 58 children with epilepsy and 15 children without seizures, who served as the healthy (non-epilepsy) group. The mean FSS scores of the children with epilepsy were significantly higher than those of the healthy (non-epilepsy) group (4.40 vs. 1.55, respectively; P < 0.0001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that seizure frequency was the only characteristic significantly associated with fatigue (P < 0.0001). In the three epilepsy subgroups, the mean FSS scores for the WCE, intermediate-controlled epilepsy and UCE groups were 2.30, 3.97 and 6.28, respectively. A higher seizure frequency was associated with more severe fatigue. In particular, children in the UCE group had significantly more severe fatigue than those in the WCE group (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: The results suggest that seizure frequency is also associated with fatigue in children with epilepsy. Improved control of seizures may help reduce fatigue levels and improve the quality of life of children with epilepsy.
Keywords: Fatigue Severity Scale; epilepsy; fatigue; quality of life; seizure frequency.
© 2018 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).