Escolhas alimentares de cuidadores de crianças e adolescentes com epilepsia

Abstract

The present study aimed to present how eating behavior is related, more precisely to food choices, of caregivers of children and adolescents with epilepsy, their sociodemographic status and the frequency of seizures of their dependents, in addition to verifying how sociodemographic conditions are related between these individuals. This is a cross-sectional study, linked to the extension project entitled "Abordagem multiprofissional Epilepsia: trabalhando pais e cuidadores " carried out at a university hospital that is a reference in neurological diseases in the metropolitan region of Belém, in which 42 caregivers whose dependents had diagnoses of epilepsy. It was observed that food choices are correlated with the sociodemographic status of caregivers, just as they are correlated with the frequency of seizures of their dependents. Furthermore, correlations were found between the caregiver's age and the frequency of seizures among their dependents and the dependent's age and family income. The findings in this study allowed us to identify the reason for the food choices of caregivers of children and adolescents with epilepsy, contributing to new studies focusing on the eating behavior of these individuals (both caregivers and their dependents with epilepsy) to happen in the future and that this way may contribute to the development of strategies for nutritional assistance aimed at guiding the most appropriate food choices by the multidisciplinary team, in order to assist in the treatment of these children and adolescents, in the remission of symptoms and in the dietary adherence of these individuals.