Association between iron-deficiency anemia and febrile convulsion in children aged 6 months to 5 years

Background Febrile convulsion (FC) is the most common type of seizure in children aged 6 months to 5 years. Many risk factors that increase the occurrence of seizures have been identified. There is some evidence of the association between iron-deficiency anemia, iron status, and FC during childhood. Patients and methods A prospective case–control study was carried out in 45 admitted FC patients and 37 febrile nonconvulsive patients admitted to the hospital as a control group. Serum iron, ferritin, and transferrin saturation were compared in two groups. Iron deficiency is defined as serum ferritin lower than 30 ng/ml; serum iron more than 20 ng/dl and hemoglobin were adjusted according to age. Results The mean age of the patients in the febrile seizure group was 22.7±11.5 months and that in the control group was 18.8±11.3 months. The mean hemoglobin levels were 10.79±0.75 g/dl in the FC group and 11.56±0.6 g/dl in the control group. The mean ferritin in the FC group was 19.8 versus 51.2% ng/ml in the control group and the mean serum iron was 18.4% in the FC group versus 61.6% ng/ml in the control group. Conclusion This study suggests that iron-deficiency anemia and low serum ferritin levels may be associated with an increased risk of FCs.