Epilepsy risk ‘higher in babies of obese mums’

WOMEN who are overweight when they conceive are more likely to have an epileptic child, a study has found.

The more overweight they are in early pregnancy the more likely they are to have a baby who develops epilepsy.

Maternal obesity has increased globally and there is growing concern about its neurological effect on babies in the womb. Dr Neda Razaz of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and colleagues studied more than 1.4million births in Sweden to examine body mass index in women in their first three months of pregnancy and the risk of childhood epilepsy. Of the children, 7,592 (0.5 per cent) developed epilepsy.

The researchers found that the risk of childhood epilepsy increased by 82 per cent for the children of severely obese women with a BMI of 40 or more compared with children of normal-weight mothers. For women who were overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) the risk increased by 11 per cent, while a BMI of 30 to 34.9 was associated with a 20 per cent increased risk. A BMI of 35 to 39.9 was associated with a 30 per cent increased risk, according to the findings published online by JAMA Neurology.

The researchers speculated that maternal obesity may increase the risk of brain injury or might affect neuro-development.