Oakley, Laura L; Regan, Annette K; Fell, Deshayne B; Spruin, Sarah; Bakken, Inger Johanne; Kwong, Jeffrey C; Pereira, Gavin; Nassar, Natasha; Aaberg, Kari M; Wilcox, Allen J; +1 more... Håberg, Siri E; (2021) Childhood seizures after prenatal exposure to maternal influenza infection: a population-based cohort study from Norway, Australia and Canada. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 107 (2). pp. 153-159. ISSN 0003-9888 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-322210
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether clinical and/or laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of maternal influenza during pregnancy increases the risk of seizures in early childhood. DESIGN: Analysis of prospectively collected registry data for children born between 2009 and 2013 in three high-income countries. We used Cox regression to estimate country-level adjusted HRs (aHRs); fixed-effects meta-analyses were used to pool adjusted estimates. SETTING: Population-based. PARTICIPANTS: 1 360 629 children born between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013 in Norway, Australia (New South Wales) and Canada (Ontario). EXPOSURE: Clinical and/or laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of maternal influenza infection during pregnancy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We extracted data on recorded seizure diagnosis in secondary/specialist healthcare between birth and up to 7 years of age; additional analyses were performed for the specific seizure outcomes 'epilepsy' and 'febrile seizures'. RESULTS: Among 1 360 629 children in the study population, 14 280 (1.0%) were exposed to maternal influenza in utero. Exposed children were at increased risk of seizures (aHR 1.17, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.28), and also febrile seizures (aHR 1.20, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.34). There was no strong evidence of an increased risk of epilepsy (aHR 1.07, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.41). Risk estimates for seizures were higher after influenza infection during the second and third trimester than for first trimester. CONCLUSIONS: In this large international study, prenatal exposure to influenza infection was associated with increased risk of childhood seizures.
Item Type | Article |
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Faculty and Department | Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health > Dept of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology |
Research Centre | Centre for Maternal, Reproductive and Child Health (MARCH) |
PubMed ID | 34187781 |
Elements ID | 162137 |
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Filename: Oakley_etal_2021_Childhood-seizures-after-prenatal-exposure.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
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