The Neurologic Profile of Children and Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increasing incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in children and adolescents. Neurologic involvement has been mainly reported in adults, and information in pediatrics is based primarily on individual case reports. In this study, we explored the prevalence and spectrum of neurologic manifestations of 50 children with inflammatory bowel disease in comparison to healthy controls. Based on clinical reports and neurologic evaluation, 34 patients (68%) exhibited neurologic manifestations compared with 10 children (23.8%) in the control group (P < .001). The main symptoms associated with inflammatory bowel disease in comparison to the control subjects were headache: 46% vs 3% (P < 0.001), dizziness: 26% vs none (P < .001), hypotonia: 10% vs none (P = .06), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): 28% vs 7.1% (P < .001), tics and sensory complaints: 16% vs 2.4% (P = .036). Seizures and neuropsychiatric disorders were less characteristic. A larger-scale prospective study is required to further clarify this association.