ArticleActa epileptologica2024
Impact of prenatal, neonatal, and postnatal factors on epilepsy risk in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Acta epileptologica, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Secondhand smoke exposure and human health: an umbrella review.Nature human behaviour · 2026Pooled it
- Review
- Association of severe maternal morbidity with epilepsy diagnosis in children: a population-based birth cohort study.International journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Global, regional and national burden of epilepsy secondary to four major neonatal disorders: insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Translational pediatrics · 2026Article
- Intrauterine exposure to maternal diabetes and the risk of developing epilepsy in children: a national cohort study of 2.3 million children.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Global temporal trends and projections of epilepsy in women of childbearing age: insights from the global burden of disease study 2021.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Article
- Prenatal and childhood infections and risk of epilepsy.European journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Global, regional, and national burden of epilepsy, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.The Lancet. Public health · 2025Article
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3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundEpilepsy is a common, long-term neurological condition. Several previous case-control, cohort and cross-sectional studies have highlighted the role of prenatal, delivery and postnatal factors in the onset of epilepsy. In this systematic review, we evaluate the impact of these factors on the development of epilepsy in children and adolescents.
methodsWe searched PubMed and Google Scholar for literature on the relationship between prenatal, delivery and postnatal factors and the occurrence of epilepsy. The research was performed according to the PRSIMA 2020 flowchart and checklist. Data were extracted and pooled according to the ReviewManager 5.3 software using a random-effects model. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were used to evaluate the source of heterogeneity.
resultsWe identified 25 reports, including 45,044 cases with confirmed epilepsy and 2,558,210 controls. Premature birth is significantly associated with the risk of epilepsy (pooled OR = 4.36 [95% CI: 1.26-15.09], P = 0.02). Smoking during pregnancy significantly increases this risk by 28% (pooled OR = 1.28 [95% CI:1.1-1.49], P = 0.002). Furthermore, maternal epilepsy confers a pooled OR of 2.06 [95% CI:1.26-3.36]. Eclampsia is linked to a 16.9-fold increased risk of epilepsy. In addition, both pregnancy metrorrhagia and maternal infection are significantly associated with the epilepsy risk (pooled OR = 2.24 [95% CI: 1.36-3.71] and 1.28 [95% CI: 1.17-1.41], respectively). For delivery conditions, cord prolapse (pooled OR = 2.58 [95% CI: 1.25-5.32]), prolonged labor (> 6 h) (OR = 6.74 [95% CI: 3.57-12.71]) and head trauma (pooled OR = 2.31 [95% CI: 1.54-3.48]) represent a meaningful risk of epilepsy occurrence. Moreover, birth complications (OR = 3.91 [95% CI: 2.43-6.29]), low birth weight (pooled OR = 1.83 [95% CI: 1.5-2.23]) and male birth (pooled OR = 1.18 [95% CI: 1.06-1.32]) are associated with an elevated risk of epilepsy in childhood and adolescence.
conclusionsEpilepsy in children and adolescents can be attributed to a multitude of intricate factors, notably those during pregnancy, delivery and the postnatal period. These findings highlight the crucial role of prenatal and postnatal care in reducing the impact of these factors on epilepsy occurrence.
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