Morbidity of childhood onset narcolepsy: a controlled national study.
Narcolepsy is associated with significant morbidities. We evaluated the morbidities and mortality in a national group of child and adolescent patients after a first diagnosis of narcolepsy.



Identified from the Danish National Patient Registry (NPR), 243 patients (128 boys) aged 0-19 years diagnosed with narcolepsy between 1998 and 2012 with follow-up until 2014 were compared with 970 controls who were randomly chosen from the Danish Civil Registration System Statistics and matched by age, gender and geography. Comorbidities were calculated three years before and after diagnoses.



In addition to the more frequent health contacts due to neurological diseases, patients showed elevated odds ratios before and after diagnosis of endocrine and metabolic conditions (4.4 (95% CI, 1.9-10.4); 3.8 (1.7-8.4)), nervous disorders (16.6 (8.0-34.4); 198 (49.0-804)), psychiatric illnesses (4.5 (2.3-9.1)/5.8 (2.8-12.1)), pulmonary diseases, and other diseases (3.1 (2.0-4.9); 3.1 (2.0-4.9)). Congenital abnormalities (2.5 (1.1-5.5)), respiratory (2.9 (1.5-5-5)) and eye (5.7 (2.2-15.0)) diseases were more common before diagnosis. Injuries were also more common after diagnosis (1.5 (1.0-2.1)). Narcoleptic children presented significantly more diagnoses of multiple comorbidities than controls before and after diagnosis.



Before and after a diagnosis of narcolepsy in children, morbidity is more frequent in several domains, including metabolic, psychiatric, neurological and other diseases.
Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: poul.joergen.jennum@glo.regionh.dk.
Poul
P
Jennum
Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Line
L
Pickering
Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Eva Wiberg
EW
Thorstensen
itracks, Klosterport 4E, 4, Aarhus, Denmark. Electronic address: rikke@itracks.dk.
Rikke
R
Ibsen
Danish National Institute for Local and Regional Government Research, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: jakj@kora.dk.
Jakob
J
Kjellberg
D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003718:Denmark; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009290:Narcolepsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries
Childhood; Controlled; Morbidity; Mortality; Narcolepsy; Prospective