NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS IN PAKISTAN: FREQUENCY, DISTRIBUTION, PATTERN AND RELATED FACTORS

NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Objective: To document the frequency, pattern and related factors of neurological disorders in patients presenting at neurological outpatient clinic of Children Hospital and University Of Child Health Sciences, Lahore.

Methodology: Prospective, cross-sectional study was done at Children Hospital and University Of Child Health Sciences, Lahore from June 2021 to June 2022. A total of 621 patients aged 1 month to 14 years of both genders were enrolled in the study after confirmation of neurological disorder.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 5.66 ± 3.70 years. Male predominance i.e., 344 (55.4%) and high consanguinity i.e., 398 (64.1%) with a strong family history of neurological disorders i.e., 232 (37.4%) were encountered in the population. The majority of the patients were living in rural areas i.e., 399 (64.3%) and 348 (56.4%) of the study population belong to lower socioeconomic status. Epilepsy was found to be the most common neurological disorder 195 (31.4%), followed by Cerebral palsy (post asphyxia, post kernicteric, post meningetic sequelae) 106 (17.1%) and Intellectual disability 52 (8.4%). When 207 patients with epilepsy were, compared with 414 patients having other neurological disorders, male gender (p 0.014), rural residence (p 0.024), perinatal asphyxia (p 0.001), meningitis (p 0.041) and malnutrition (p 0.005) were found significant.

Conclusion: Neurological diseases in children among the Pakistani population are responsible for significant morbidity. Identification of etiological factors and patterns can help in developing strategies that can overcome and prevent future disabilities.