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Paed Epilepsy – Improves psychosocial health in children

Evidence Summary
• In a pilot interventional study to test the feasibility of a 5-week exercise programme in children with epilepsy, there were significant improvements seen in measures of attention, executive function and well-being. There was also a significant decrease in internalising behaviours and social problems (3). A subsequent 35 week long exercise therapy programme in children with epilepsy carried out by the same group again found significant improvements in measures of processing speed, executive function and overall quality of life scores. There was a significant reduction in the frequency of internalising behavioural problems and parents reported observing positive changes in childrens’ thoughts and/or emotions over the course of the intervention (4).

Quality of Evidence
• B – moderate quality
Strength of Recommendation
• Grade 2 – weak recommendation
Conclusion
• Physical activity has been shown to improve psychosocial health in children with epilepsy in two small interventional studies. Further studies are required to improve the quality of the evidence.

References

  1. Eom et al. The impact of an exercise therapy on psychosocial health of children with benign epilepsy: A pilot study. Epilepsy & Behviour 37 (2014): 151-156
  2. Eom et al. The Impact of a 35-week Long-term Exercise Therapy on Psychosocial Health of Children with Benign Epilepsy. Journal of Child Neurology 2016; 31(8): 985-990