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Risk Factors for Epilepsy in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Follow-Up at Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Case-Control Study

Merertu Temesgen Alemu, Tsion Messele Nigusie

Background: Epilepsy stands as a persistent and significant neurological disorder, ranking among the primary contributors to disability in Ethiopia.

Objective: To evaluate the risk factors for epilepsy among children undergoing follow-up at Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical college, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: An unmatched case-control study design was implemented to investigate epilepsy risk factors among patients attending the neurology clinic at Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical college, a teaching hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study included 87 cases selected from individuals with epilepsy and 174 controls chosen from non- epileptic patients attending the general pediatrics clinic at the same hospital during the same timeframe. Data on the identified risk factors were gathered through personal interviews using a structured questionnaire and by reviewing medical records. Subsequently, the collected data were coded, checked for accuracy and entered into Epi-Info-7. The information was then exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted and both crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. A significance level of p<0.05 was employed to indicate statistical significance.

Results: Of the cases, 58 (66.7%) and among the controls, 95 (57.9%) had a mean age of 5.8 ± 4.0 and 5.8 ± 3.6 years, respectively. The probability of experiencing epilepsy was higher in children with a family history of epilepsy (AOR: 5.69, 95% CI (2.051, 15.84)), an APGAR score<6 (AOR: 7.51, 95% CI (1.55, 36.26)), a history of CNS infection (AOR: 14.26, 95% CI (3.28, 62.08)) and current neurological impairment (AOR: 8.07, 95% CI (1.10, 59.07)).

Conclusion: This study identified an increased likelihood of epilepsy in individuals with a family history of the condition, an APGAR score<6, a history of CNS infection and current neurological impairment.