Francesca Felicia Operto, Antonio Pascotto, Giuseppe Signoriello, Ciro Mainolfi, Marco Salvatore, Delia Fortunato, Giangennaro Coppola, Gianfranca Auricchio, Coppola, G., Fortunato, D., Auricchio, G., Mainolfi, C., Operto, F. F., Signoriello, Giuseppe, Pascotto, A., and Salvatore, M.
Summary Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess bone mineral density (BMD) in a large population of children, adolescents, and young adults with epilepsy alone or in association with cerebral palsy and/or mental retardation. Methods: Ninety-six patients were enrolled in the study. The group comprised 50 males and 46 females, aged between 3 and 25 years (mean age 11 years). The control group consisted of 63 healthy children and adolescents (23 males, 40 females), aged between 3 and 25 years (mean age 12.1 years). Patients underwent a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan of the lumbar spine (L1–L4) and the z scores were calculated for each patient; the t score was considered for patients 18 years of age or older. Results: Abnormal BMD was found in 56 patients (58.3%), with values documenting osteopenia in 42 (75%) and osteoporosis in 14 (25%). A significant difference emerged between epileptic patients and the control group in BMD, z score, and body mass index (BMI) (p =