Impact of ketogenic diet therapy on growth in children with epilepsy

• Published in: Epilepsy research 2023-02, Vol.190, p.107076-107076, Article 107076
• Main Authors: Lu, Serena, Champion, Helena, Mills, Nicole, Simpson, Zoe, Whiteley, Victoria J., Schoeler, Natasha E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Diet, Ketogenic - methods; Drug Resistant Epilepsy; Epilepsy; Height; High fat; Humans; Ketone Bodies; Low carbohydrate; Retrospective Studies; Seizures; Treatment Outcome; Weight
• ISSN: 0920-1211; 1872-6844
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2023.107076

Ketogenic diet therapy (KDT) is an effective treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy in children. There is conflicting evidence regarding the impact of KDT on growth. We aimed to determine whether linear growth and weight were affected in children who followed KDT in the UK, and to explore potential associations with clinical or demographic factors with impacted growth. A retrospective review of medical records of children with epilepsy following KDT at 3 UK centres was conducted. Height and weight measurements taken as part of routine clinical management were recorded at baseline, 1–8 years on diet, and 1-year post-diet. Measurements were converted into z-scores, and the differences from baseline analysed using Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests. Potential associations of impacted growth with feeding method, ambulatory status, diet type, age at diet onset and average daily protein intake were investigated using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis tests or Spearman’s Rank correlation. 265 individuals were included, of which 84 had post-diet data available. Median height z-score significantly decreased at 1- (n = 139, p = .018), 2- (n = 86, p