The Association Between Febrile Seizures and Iron Deficiency Anemia in Childhood

Aim: Febrile seizures are the most common seizure type in childhood. In recent years febrile seizures are linked with iron deficiency anemia. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between febrile seizures and iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia. Material and Method: 139 children, aged 6 months to 5 years, admitted to our pediatric outpatient and emergency clinic between November 2003 and August 2004 were enrolled in the study. The diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia and febrile seizures were made according to the criteria of American Academy of Pediatrics. The study group consisted of 93 children with one or more febrile convulsions. None of them was on antiepileptic therapy. The control groups consisted of children with a febrile illness in the absence of convulsions (n=21) and healthy children (n=25). Results: There was no statistically significant difference in Hb, MCV and ferritin levels between the study and control groups (p>0,05). The serum iron levels were lower in the children with febrile seizures compared to the children with a febrile illness in the absence of febrile seizures and healthy children. The result is statistically significant (p<0,05). Discussion: The present study showed that the percentage of iron deficiency is higher in the children with febrile seizures compared to the control groups even before the anemia develops. The results of this study suggest that iron deficiency may play a role in the etiopathogenesis of febrile seizures. However, further standardized and controlled studies are required to evaluate this finding.