title: Iron deficiency as a risk factor for first febrile seizure.
abstract: We conducted this study to determine the role of iron deficiency as a risk factor for first febrile seizure in children. Fifty children between 6 months to 6 years with first febrile seizure (Cases) and 50 children with febrile illness but without convulsions (Controls) were enrolled from the pediatric ward of a tertiary care hospital. Iron deficiency was determined by estimation of hemoglobin, red blood cell indices and serum ferritin. The mean serum ferritin level (microg/L) was significantly low in Cases (31.9 +/- 31.0) as compared to Controls (53.9 +/- 56.5) with P = 0.003. Iron deficiency could be a potential risk factor for febrile seizure in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, India. anukvaswani@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Rajwanti K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Vaswani
authors.forename: Praveen G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Dharaskar
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D012307:Risk Factors; D003294:Seizures, Febrile
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins