Cytomegalovirus infection in infancy may increase the risk of subsequent epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder in childhood

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous virus, and CMV-associated diseases range from mild illness in immunologically normal hosts to life-threatening diseases in newborns and im-munocompromised children. This study investigated the association between childhood CMV infection and subsequent epilepsy or neurodevelopmental disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A retrospective analysis was performed on data for 69 children with confirmed CMV infections (CMV infection group) and 292 patients with other infections (control group) between 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2012. The results indicated that the CMV infection group had a higher risk of epilepsy in comparison to the control (odds ratio (OR), 16.4; 95% CI (confidence interval), 3.32–80.7; p = 0.001). Epilepsy risk increased in younger children (age 0–2) with CMV infection when compared to the control group (OR, 32.6; 95% CI, 3.84–276; p = 0.001). The ASD risk was also determined to be higher in the CMV infection group (OR, 17.9; 95% CI, 1.96–162; p = 0.01). The ADHD risk between the groups was not signifi-cant. This study suggests that CMV infection in infancy may increase the risk of subsequent epilepsy and ASD, especially in infants younger than 2 years, but is not associated with ADHD.