Introduction:

The comorbidity between epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder reaches a high percentage of pediatric patients.

Objective:

To characterize the comorbidity of autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy in pediatric patients.

Methods:

Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study in a population of 23 subjects.

Results:

Female patients predominated (n= 14; 60.9%). All of the individuals attended the first consultation, were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and suffered the first epileptic seizure at 9 years or younger. 78.3% (n= 18) were born between 38 and 42 weeks of gestation, and 65.2% (n= 15) were diagnosed with intellectual disability disorder. The absence of risk factors was the most common characteristic (n= 14; 60.9 %). Generalized seizures were the most frequent (n= 12; 52.17%). Individuals with congenital (n= 16; 69.57%) and idiopathic (n= 8, 64.78) autism spectrum disorder predominated. In 56.5% (n= 13), the first epileptic seizure preceded the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

Conclusions:

In the population studied, the comorbidity between epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder occurs mainly in females, before the first decade of life, with coexistence of an intellectual disability disorder and the absence of risk factors, in the context of generalized epileptic seizures and a congenital, profound, idiopathic autism spectrum disorder, and diagnosed after epilepsy.

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