An Accurate Assessment of the Prevalence Ratio of Epilepsy Adequately Adjusted by Influencing Factors

Beran, Roy G.; Hall, Lorna; Michelazzi, Jane

doi:10.1159/000110217

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The estimated median prevalence of epilepsy in Arab countries is 2.3/1,000 (varying from 0.9–6.5/1,000), which is just within the range found in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia (3–8/1,000) (Beran et al., 1985; Hauser et al., 1991; Sridharan & Murthy, 1999; Forsgren et al., 2005; Mac et al., 2007), but less than in sub‐Saharan Africa (15/1,000) (Preux & Druet‐Cabanac, 2005) and Latin America (18/1,000) (Burneo et al., 2005). However, the Libyan and Sudanese studies reported a lower prevalence than expected, which is again likely to be methodologic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

A systematic review of the epidemiology of epilepsy in Arab countries

2009

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Summary In this report the epidemiologic aspects of epilepsy in Arab countries are systematically reviewed. MEDLINE and Embase were searched, and six papers were identified: one incidence report from Qatar and five prevalence reports (two from Sudan, and one from each of Libya, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia). An incidence of 174 per 100,000 persons in 2001 was reported in a hospital‐based study from Qatar. Prevalence ranged between 0.9/1,000 in Sudan and 6.5/1,000 in Saudi Arabia, with a median of 2.3/1,000. An approximate 724,500 people with epilepsy live in the Arab world. All the studies report higher prevalence in males, which was statistically significant in the Saudi study. The prevalence is approximately 2‐fold higher in children and young adults, compared to the rates in middle age. Two studies showed a high prevalence in individuals older than 60 years of age. Primary generalized seizures are reported in 28–97% of cases, partial seizures in 3–43.8%, and unclassified seizures in 18–51%. Idiopathic epilepsy represents 73.5–82.6% of cases. Early childhood brain damage such as in cerebral palsy and mental retardation represented a major cause of symptomatic epilepsy, whereas infection was the main cause in Sudan. The epidemiologic data from Arab states are lacking, especially from populous countries like Egypt, Algeria, and Syria. Well‐designed studies are needed to accurately determine the burden of epilepsy in the Arab world.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

A systematic review of the epidemiology of epilepsy in Arab countries

2009

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“…A prevalence of 6.8 per 1000 is reported from the United States (Hauser et al. , 1991) and 7.5 per 1000 from Australia (Beran et al. , 1985).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The epidemiology of epilepsy in Europe – a systematic review

Forsgren

Beghi

Õun

et al. 2005

Euro J of Neurology

677

387

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Population-based epidemiological studies on epilepsy are available mainly from the UK and the Nordic, Baltic and western Mediterranean countries. No studies were identified from large areas of Europe, especially from the former eastern Europe (except the Baltic countries) and the eastern Mediterranean countries. Based on the prevalence of epilepsy in different studies and accounting for incomplete case identification the estimated number of children and adolescents in Europe with active epilepsy is 0.9 million (prevalence 4.5-5.0 per 1000), 1.9 million in ages 20-64 years (prevalence six per 1000) and 0.6 million in ages 65 years and older (prevalence seven per 1000). Approximately 20-30% of the epilepsy population have more than one seizure per month. Based on the age-specific incidence rates in European studies, the estimated number of new cases per year amongst European children and adolescents is 130,000 (incidence rate 70 per 100,000), 96,000 in adults 20-64 years (incidence rate 30 per 100,000) and 85,000 in the elderly 65 years and older (incidence 100 per 100,000). The proportion of both new and established cases with epilepsy in the young, adults and elderly in individual countries may differ substantially from total European distribution because of differences in age structure.

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“…A few researchers have defined the term "epilepsy" to include patients with a single seizure, [27][28][29] and a few have required three unprovoked seizures. 30,31 Most recent clinical and epidemiologic studies have required two unprovoked seizures as a minimal criterion for the diagnosis. 16,31 The international classification of epileptic syndromes proposed by the International League against Epilepsy categorizes patients with only a single convulsive episode separately from those with more than one seizure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%