Table 1.
Group demographic information by antiepileptic exposure group
| VPA | CBZ | LTG | LEV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample size | 26 | 37 | 88 | 30 | |
| Maternal characteristics, and epilepsy and pregnancy information | |||||
| AED daily dose 1st trimester, mg/d, mean (range, min‐max) | 936.54 (500‐1500) | 637.84 (200‐1400) | 270.17 (50‐600) | 1183.00 (250‐3000) | NA |
| Maternal age at birth of the baby, y, mean (SD) | 33 (3) | 32 (5) | 31 (4) | 32 (4) | 0.022a |
| Maternal education, n (%) higher educationb | 13 (57%) | 17 (49%) | 44 (60%) | 16 (64%) | 0.647c |
| Maternal behavioral problems, mean (SD)b , d | 47.9 (9.6) | 49.8 (9.1) | 50.7 (9.0) | 50.3 (9.5) | 0.636a |
| Family type, n (%) two‐parent | 23 (89%) | 33 (89%) | 80 (91%) | 27 (90%) | 0.950e |
| Folate supplementation, n (%) yesf | 22 (88%) | 25 (71%) | 71 (81%) | 22 (73%) | 0.382e |
| Alcohol exposure, n (%) yes | |||||
| First trimester | 3 (12%) | 4 (11%) | 27 (31%) | 5 (17%) | 0.039e |
| Second and/or third trimester | 1 (4%) | 1 (3%) | 8 (9%) | 1 (3%) | 0.606e |
| Nicotine exposure, n (%) yes | |||||
| First trimester | 8 (31%) | 3 (8%) | 4 (5%) | 2 (7%) | 0.003e |
| Second and/or third trimester | 5 (19%) | 0 | 2 (2%) | 2 (7%) | 0.005e |
| Maternal epilepsy type, n (%) | |||||
| Generalized | 18 (69%) | 2 (5%) | 23 (26%) | 12 (40%) | 0.000e |
| Focal | 6 (23%) | 32 (87%) | 57 (65%) | 17 (57%) | |
| Unknown | 2 (8%) | 3 (8%) | 8 (9%) | 1 (3%) | |
| Tonic–clonic seizures, n (%) yes | 2 (8%) | 5 (14%) | 14 (16%) | 4 (13%) | 0.788c |
| Breast‐feeding, n (%) yes | 6 (23%) | 14 (38%) | 18 (21%) | 4 (13%) | 0.105e |
| Child characteristics | |||||
| Age, mo, mean (SD) | 81.7 (6.1) | 80.1 (6.1) | 82.3 (7.6) | 78.0 (5.3) | 0.024a |
| Gestational age, wk, mean (SD) | 40.4 (1.3) | 39.9 (1.3) | 39.8 (1.1) | 40.2 (1.2) | 0.161a |
| Child sex, n (%) male | 13 (50%) | 19 (51%) | 45 (51%) | 19 (63%) | 0.680c |
| Congenital malformations, n (%) yes | 6 (23%) | 4 (11%) | 4 (5%) | 2 (7%) | 0.034e |
| Sibling in the study, n (%) yes | 3 (12%) | 1 (3%) | 16 (18%) | 5 (17%) | |
| Inclusion time in EURAP‐NL, n (%) | |||||
| Before 16th week pregnancy | 17 (65%) | 25 (68%) | 67 (76%) | 21 (70%) | 0.725c |
| Between 16th week and birth | 7 (27%) | 7 (19%) | 11(13%) | 5 (17%) | |
| After birth | 2 (8%) | 5 (14%) | 10 (11%) | 4 (13%) | |
| Child diagnosis, n (%) | |||||
| Any diagnosisg | 8 (31%) | 4 (11%) | 10 (11%) | 1 (3%) | 0.015c |
| Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder | 3 (12%) | 2 (5%) | 4 (5%) | 1 (3%) | 0.577c |
| Diagnosis of ADHD | 2 (8%) | 2 (5%) | 5 (6%) | 0 (0%) | 0.648c |
Abbreviations: ADHD, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder; AED, antiepileptic drug; CBZ, carbamazepine; EURAP, European Registry of Antiepileptic Drugs and Pregnancy; LEV, levetiracetam; LTG, lamotrigine; NA, not applicable; VPA, valproate.
Analysis of variance (continuous data).
156 mothers.
Chi‐square.
Maternal behavioral problems measured with the Adult Self Report, T scores (mean = 50, SD = 10). Values were missing for five mothers.
Fisher's exact (dichotomous data).
Appropriate use of folic acid was defined as at least 4 weeks before conception with a minimum dose of 0.4 mg/d. Three values are missing because of unknown start date of folic acid.
Any diagnosis included: autism, ADHD, anxiety, trauma, conduct disorder, developmental language disorder, and dyslexia. Some children only had symptoms or a suspicion of an autism spectrum disorder or ADHD, but no official diagnoses. For ADHD, the age of the children may have played a role, because the majority of children were 6 years old and ADHD is often diagnosed later in life. Only one child of the 181 children was diagnosed with epilepsy.