Evaluation of psychiatric comorbidity in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder with epilepsy: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder caused by structural and functional brain abnormalities as well as genetic and environmental factors. ADHD symptoms are commonly observed in individuals with epilepsy. A few studies have reported a pattern of behavioral problems in children with combined epilepsy and ADHD. We aimed to evaluate comorbid behavioral problems and mental health concerns among children with epilepsy with ADHD and without ADHD including autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, depression, somatic problems, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder. METHODS: A total of 100 children aged between 6 and 11 years were recruited and categorized into 1 of 5 groups (20 child/group): (1) epilepsy, (2) epilepsy with ADHD, (3) ADHD with electroencephalogram (EEG) changes, (4) ADHD without EEG changes, and (5) healthy control. The scales used in our study included the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test (CAST) to screen autism spectrum conditions and related social and communication conditions, Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) to assess ADHD and other comorbid behavioral and social-emotional difficulties, and Children Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to evaluate behavior problems. RESULTS: The CAST scale score showed no significant difference among the studied groups. Regarding the Conners-3 scale, the combined type of ADHD was predominant in the ADHD with EEG changes group and the ADHD with epilepsy group, while hyperactive ADHD was predominant in the ADHD without EEG changes group. The ADHD with EEG changes group and the ADHD with epilepsy group had equally high clinical rating scores for CBCL in internalizing and externalizing problems. There was a significant difference in the profile of all Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) scales of CBCL among the studied groups. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to use EEG in patients with ADHD in comparison with epilepsy. ADHD with epilepsy is closely related to ADHD with EEG changes regarding psychiatric comorbidity in terms of anxiety, depression, somatic problems, oppositional defiance problems, and conduct problems.

Comparison of knowledge, attitude, socioeconomic burden, and mental health disorders of COVID-19 pandemic between general population and health care workers in Egypt.

INTRODUCTION: The global devastating effect of COVID-19 has caused anxiety and fear to variable extent among the public. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, socioeconomic burden, and the mental health problems regarding anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder during COVID-19 on the general population and HCWs in Egypt. METHODS: This study was conducted using a semi-structured online questionnaire in May 2020. Data on demographic features, socioeconomic scale, knowledge, and attitude regarding COVID-19 and the effect on different aspects of life were collected. Assessment was done using Arabic versions of Beck's Anxiety Inventory, Beck's Depression Inventory-II, and Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. We divided participants into non-health care workers (non-HCWs) and HCWs groups. RESULTS: There were 524 participants who responded to the survey from 23 governorates. More than half of the participants were females (57.4%), middle age (53%), and middle socioeconomic class (66.6%). Non-HCWs were 402 and HCWs were 122. Most participants had good knowledge about the disease and a positive attitude toward protective measures particularly in HCWs. COVID-19 showed negative impact on different aspects of participants' life. HCWs had higher frequency of anxiety (32%) and OCD (29%) than non-HCWs (30% and 28%, respectively) while non-HCWs had higher depression (69%) than HCWs (66.4%). HCWs had higher rates of severe depression (20.5%) with moderate and severe OCD (4.9%, 1.6% respectively) than non-HCWs. Female gender, young age, urban residence, students, smoking, history of medical illness, and low socioeconomic class were significant associated factors. CONCLUSIONS: Health care workers had good knowledge about COVID-19 and a positive attitude toward the protective measures relative to non-HCWs. COVID-19 had a negative impact on different aspects of life and had a major association with the anxiety, depression, and OCD in both groups. Health professionals are more likely to have these psychological consequences. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41983-021-00280-w.