Behavior Problems Associated with Corticosteroid Use in Children with Nephrotic Syndrome

Open Access

Abstract

Background: Chronic conditions, notably nephrotic syndrome (NS), are related to psychological problems. Corticosteroid therapy in children with NS may cause a variety of side effects including behavioral issues. Aim: The current study was conducted to investigate the association between various behavioral disorders in children and cumulative doses of steroid. Methods & Materials: From June 2017 to May 2018, this prospective case-control study was conducted at various institutes and medical college hospitals in Dhaka as well as Bogura. One hundred cases of NS aged 4-17 years from a purposive sampling approach, as well as 100 age and gender-matched control subjects were enrolled. The behavior of children with NS and controls was assessed using SDQ grading. A data collection sheet was developed, and the Bengali version of the SDQ format was used. Variables were measured using various methods. SDQ was compared to these variables, and data were analyzed using SPSS (version 22). Results: In both case and control, males were predominant though not significant statistically. The case and control groups had mean age of 7.86 ± 2.98 and 7.19 ± 2.77 years respectively which was also not statistically significant. Most of the study subjects were from rural area in both groups. The emotional symptoms scale, conduct difficulties scale, and peer relationship problems were significantly higher in cases than in control group, whereas the pro-social behavior scale was significantly lower. SDQ score had no correlation with cumulative doses of steroid. Conclusion: Children with NS experience much greater psychological issues than the control group, unrelated to cumulative doses of steroid. So, they should be assessed for behavioral abnormalities during and after treatment of the original problem.