Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 18;60(1):37-42.
doi: 10.29399/npa.28055. eCollection 2023.

Developmental and Behavioral Consequences of Intrauterine Anti-Seizure Medication Exposure

Miray Atacan Yaşgüçlükal  1 , Merve Savaş  2 , Zeynep Acar  3 , Sezin Başoğlu  4 , Özlem Çokar  3
Affiliations

Developmental and Behavioral Consequences of Intrauterine Anti-Seizure Medication Exposure

Miray Atacan Yaşgüçlükal et al. Noro Psikiyatr Ars. .

Abstract

Introduction: In this cross-sectional study, whether there is a difference in the prevalence of developmental/behavioral problems in children of those who received mono/polytherapy during pregnancy; How Valproic Acid (VPA) exposure affects developmental/behavioral characteristics compared to other antiseizure medications (ASM) was also investigated.

Method: 64 children of 46 women with epilepsy (WWE) with children aged 0-18 years were included. Ankara Development and Screening Inventory (ADSI) for their children up to the age of six and The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 4-18-CBCL/4-18 scale was applied for the ages of 6-18. Children exposed to prenatal ASM were divided into two groups as polytherapy and monotherapy. Children exposed to monotherapy were investigated by drug exposure, as well as exposure to VPA and other ASMs. Chi-square test was used to compare qualitative variables.

Results: When monotherapy and polytherapy groups were compared, a significant difference was found in the language cognitive development area of the ADSI (p=0.015) and in terms of the sports activity variable in CBCL/4-18 (p=0.039). When the VPA monotherapy and other ASM monotherapy groups were compared, a significant difference was found in terms of sports activity in CBCL-4-18 (p=0.013).

Conclusion: It was found that language and cognitive development can be delayed, the level of engagement in sports activities can be reduced in children exposed to polytherapy. The rate of doing sports activities in valproic acid monotherapy exposure may decrease.

Keywords: Antiseizure medication; children; epilepsy; neurodevelopment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Bromley R, Weston J, Adab N, Greenhalgh J, Sanniti A, McKay AJ, et al. Treatment for epilepsy in pregnancy:Neurodevelopmental outcomes in the child. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;2014(10) - PMC - PubMed
    1. Harden CL, Hopp J, Ting TY, Pennell PB, French JA, Hauser WA, et al. Practice parameter update:Management issues for women with epilepsy - Focus on pregnancy (an evidence-based review):Obstetrical complications and change in seizure frequency:Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee and Therapeutics and Technology A. Neurology. 2009;73(2):126–132. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thomas S V, Ajaykumar B, Sindhu K, Nair MKC, George B, Sarma PS. Motor and mental development of infants exposed to antiepileptic drugs in utero. Epilepsy Behav. 2008;13(1):229–236. - PubMed
    1. Kjaer D, Christensen J, Bech BH, Pedersen LH, Vestergaard M, Olsen J. Preschool behavioral problems in children prenatally exposed to antiepileptic drugs - a follow-up study. Epilepsy Behav. 2013;29(2):407–411. - PubMed
    1. Mawer G, Briggs M, Baker GA, Bromley R, Coyle H, Eatock J, et al. Pregnancy with epilepsy:Obstetric and neonatal outcome of a controlled study. Seizure. 2010;19(2):112–119. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources