title: Incidence of febrile seizure in patients with Down syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is unclear whether the incidence of febrile seizure (FS) in children with Down syndrome (DS) is higher or lower than in the general population. In this study, we investigated the incidence of FS in DS patients using mailed questionnaires.
  
  
  METHODS
  The questionnaires were distributed to parents or caregivers of DS patients attending Osaka Medical College Hospital and six other facilities. The questionnaires were returned by mail from February 2012 to September 2013 from 323 families of DS patients (176 male, 147 female; age range, 3 months-47 years; median age, 5.0 years). To assess the incidence of FS in DS, we performed the following two analyses: (i) we calculated the incidence of FS among DS patients between the ages of 4 and 20 years (n = 199; 113 male, 86 female), and (ii) we extracted families with both DS and healthy siblings between the ages of 4 and 20 years (n = 150; 77 male, 73 female) and compared the incidence of FS in these sibling groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five DS patients had a past history of FS. The incidence of FS in DS was 2.5%. The incidence of FS was significantly lower in DS patients compared with healthy siblings (P < 0.003; OR, 0.14).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of FS is lower in DS patients than in the general population.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Shuichi
authors: S
authors: Shimakawa
authors: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Tanabe Children's Clinic, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Takuya
authors: T
authors: Tanabe
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Tokyo Teishin Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors: Masae
authors: M
authors: Ono
authors: Hyogo PrefecturalChild Development Support Center, Akashi, Japan.
authors: Michiko
authors: M
authors: Nonaka
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Tenri Hospital, Nara, Japan.
authors: Mitsuhiko
authors: M
authors: Nambu
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kinki University Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Tohru
authors: T
authors: Shinohara
authors: Division of Neonatal Intensive Care, Perinatal Medical Center, Nara Medical University Hospital, Nara, Japan.
authors: Toshiya
authors: T
authors: Nishikubo
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Miho
authors: M
authors: Fukui
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Shohei
authors: S
authors: Nomura
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Seikeikai Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Kohji
authors: K
authors: Azumagawa
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Tamai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D035781:Siblings; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Down syndrome; febrile seizure; incidence; sibling