Children exposed in the womb to some infections of the mother, such as vaginal thrush and diarrhoea, have a higher risk of epilepsy, according to results reported in Pediatrics.
Infections in pregnancy have been linked with a higher risk of cerebral palsy, learning disability and schizophrenia, but their link with epilepsy was unclear. Seasonal patterns in children with epilepsy suggest that infections and other seasonal exposures may play a part.
Using data from the Danish National Birth Cohort, collected over more than eight years, researchers looked for links between specific infections in pregnancy and epilepsy in children. Infections in early and mid-pregnancy were recorded: cystitis, pyelonephritis (kidney infection), diarrhoea, a cough lasting more than a week, vaginal thrush, genital herpes, genital warts and cold sores. Cystitis and pyelonephritis were also recorded in late pregnancy.
Children exposed before birth to the mother's cystitis, diarrhoea or pyelonephritis had a higher risk of epilepsy. A cough lasting more than a week was linked with a higher risk only in the first year of life, and vaginal thrush only in children born prematurely.
If these links are real, epilepsy may be caused by the infection itself or by its effects, such as changes in diet, dehydration, or perhaps the medicines used to treat it. The causes of epilepsy are many (genetic, infectious, environmental) and the cause is known in fewer than 20% of cases. Epilepsy, recurrent seizures, affects about 1% of people by the age of 25.
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