OBJECTIVE: To review the current literature about neuropsychiatry co-morbidities of children and adolescents with epilepsy and the impact of these problems in the quality of life of these patients. METHODOLOGY: Literature review in journals indexed through MEDLINE, from January 2000 to December 2005. We selected from the abstracts, original studies (epidemiology, diagnoses and therapeutics), meta-analyses, and reviews in Portuguese and English. RESULTS: The rates of mental disorders in the patients studied are higher than in normal children or even in children with other chronic diseases. Once the epilepsy is a heterogeneous syndrome, multiple factors can determine the development of psychopathology. This paper reviews the relationships among epilepsy and mental retardation, pervasive disorder, language and learning disorders and attention deficit disorder, anxiety and mood disorders, psychoses, as well as diagnoses, therapeutic and prognostic aspects. CONCLUSIONS: The modern treatment of children with epilepsy goes beyond the simple control of the epileptic seizures and should include the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of the psychiatric co-morbidities in order to improve their life quality.
epilepsy; children; adolescents; comorbidity; mental health; quality of life
