by Justin Jackson , Medical Xpress

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Tottori University researchers in Japan have linked maternal psychological distress during pregnancy to an increased risk of epilepsy in children.

Epilepsy affects 65 million people globally and is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders. Individuals with epilepsy often face discrimination and social stigma, enduring stress from living with a chronic, unpredictable disease.

Early onset of epilepsy before the age of three is associated with high rates of drug resistance and developmental delays. Previous studies have identified potential factors like placental abruption, eclampsia, infection during pregnancy, low birth weight, and artificial milk as risk factors for early childhood epilepsy.

In a research article, "The impact of maternal prenatal psychological distress on the development of epilepsy in offspring: The Japan Environment and Children's Study," published in PLOS ONE, researchers used a dataset obtained from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a nationwide birth cohort involving nearly 100,000 participants, to evaluate the association between six-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) scores of mothers and epilepsy among 1 to 3-year-olds.

Self-reported data on 97,484 children were retrospectively analyzed for connections between the stress scores of expecting mothers and epilepsy outcomes in their children.

Maternal psychological distress was assessed using the six-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), administered twice during pregnancy: once in the first half (median 15.1 weeks) and again in the second half (median 27.4 weeks). Participants were categorized into six groups based on K6 scores, classified as either low (4 or less) or moderate (5 or 6) distress at each time point.

Children diagnosed with epilepsy at ages 1, 2, and 3 numbered 89 (0.1%), 129 (0.2%), and 149 (0.2%), respectively. Findings indicated that a maternal K6 score of 5 or higher at both time points was associated with 70% higher epilepsy diagnosis ratios among children aged 1 to 3 years. Multivariate analysis confirmed this association, even after adjusting for potential confounding factors like low birth weight and chromosomal abnormalities.

The study concludes that "...environmental adjustments to promote relaxation in pregnant women are needed," which makes a tremendous amount of good sense, though they continue "...to prevent the development of epilepsy in their offspring," which might be a little more than what the study is actually telling us.

The 70% increase is significant, though even with high maternal stress, epilepsy remains an extremely rare condition, and other factors seemed more prominent in the study analyses. Low birth weight was associated with a 180% increased risk by age 1, introduction to artificial milk in the first month showed a 203% increased risk by age 2, and having any chromosome abnormalities increased the risk by 2100% at age 1, 1567% at age 2, and 1000% at age 3.

More information: Yuto Arai et al, The impact of maternal prenatal psychological distress on the development of epilepsy in offspring: The Japan Environment and Children's Study, PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311666

Journal information: PLoS ONE 

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