Risk Factors Associated With Febrile Seizures in Young Children: Clinical, Biochemical, and Genetic Perspectives.

Background and objective Febrile seizures are the most common seizure disorder in children under five years of age. Although typically benign, their recurrence and atypical presentations warrant a deeper understanding of underlying risk factors. This study aims to explore the clinical, biochemical, and genetic factors associated with febrile seizures in young children. Methodology A hospital-based case-control investigation was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 106 children aged six months to five years were enrolled, including 53 cases with febrile seizures and 53 age- and sex-matched febrile controls without seizures. KCC2 gene polymorphism analysis (rs2297201) was performed in children with atypical or recurrent febrile seizures and in matched controls. Comparative analyses were performed using the chi-squared test and Student's t-test (two-tailed), with a p-value of < 0.05 regarded as statistically significant. Results A total of 40 patients out of 53 (75.47%) experienced simple seizures, while 13 (24.53%) had complex seizures. Recurrence was reported in 19 (35.85%) cases out of 53. Electrolyte and biochemical analysis revealed significantly lower sodium, ionized calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin D levels in the case group. Hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were also significantly lower in the case group (p < 0.0001). Genotype analysis of the KCC2 rs2297201 polymorphism revealed a higher frequency of the CC genotype in the case group (p = 0.0318). Conclusion This study identifies significant clinical, biochemical, and genetic differences between children with febrile seizures and febrile controls. These findings may contribute to understanding the underlying mechanisms of febrile seizures and help identify potential biomarkers for early detection.