Estimation of the burden of active and life‐time epilepsy: A meta‐analytic approach

Abstract

PurposeTo estimate the burden of lifetime epilepsy (LTE) and active epilepsy (AE) and examine the influence of study characteristics on prevalence estimates.MethodsWe searched online databases and identified articles using prespecified criteria. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to estimate the median prevalence in developed countries and in urban and rural settings in developing countries. The impact of study characteristics on prevalence estimates was determined using meta-regression models.ResultsThe median LTE prevalence for developed countries was 5.8 per 1,000 (5th–95th percentile range 2.7–12.4) compared to 15.4 per 1,000 (4.8–49.6) for rural and 10.3 (2.8–37.7) for urban studies in developing countries. The median prevalence of AE was 4.9 per 1,000 (2.3–10.3) for developed countries and 12.7 per 1,000 (3.5–45.5) and 5.9 (3.4–10.2) in rural and urban studies in developing countries. The estimates of burden for LTE and AE in developed countries were 6.8 million (5th–95th percentile range 3.2–14.7) and 5.7 million (2.7–12.2), respectively. In developing countries these were 45 (14–145) million LTE and 17 (10–133) million AE in rural areas and 17 (5–61) million LTE and 10 (5–17) million AE in urban areas. Studies involving all ages or only adults showed higher estimates than pediatric studies. Higher prevalence estimates were also associated with rural location and small study size.ConclusionsThis study estimates the global burden of epilepsy and the proportions with AE, which may benefit from treatment. There are systematic differences in reported prevalence estimates, which are only partially explained by study characteristics.

Stigma and psychiatric morbidity among mothers of children with epilepsy in Zambia

“…1 Eighty percent of people with epilepsy (PWE) live in developing countries like Zambia, where treatment is largely unavailable and, as a result, seizure control is often poor. 2 Epilepsy-associated stigma continues to contribute substantially to the social and economic burden of disease for PWE.…”

Awareness and Prevalence of Epilepsy; a Study in Educational Hubs at Sheringal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

“…It has been estimated that 10% of the world's population who live a normal lifespan can expect to have at least one epileptic seizure [6]. Throughout the world, epileptic patients are forced to face social stigma and discrimination; in addition, they are deprived from disclosing their condition or to seek any proper treatment, the reason why epilepsy continues to grow as a stigmatizing disease among the developing countries.…”

Pharmacotherapy in pediatric epilepsy: from trial and error to rational drug and dose selection – a long way to go

“…Epilepsy is a debilitating syndrome with an estimated 68 million people worldwide affected by it, which places the disease in the seventh position in terms of impact on disability and premature mortality among mental health, neurological, and substance use disorders [1,2]. In addition, it takes the nineteenth rank out of 53 items accounting for the total costs for medical care generated in the area of neurology [3].…”