Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Epilepsy Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;Psychology / Psychiatry Article Date: 23 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT
Current ratings for: Early death 11 times more likely with epilepsy
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London in the UK, who analyzed 69,995 patients in Sweden suffering from epilepsy over a 41-year period.
The researchers looked at the risks and causes of premature mortality in people with epilepsy, including suicide, accidents and assaults.
These circumstances were assessed and compared with 660,869 age-matched and sex-matched individuals without epilepsy from the general population. In addition, 81,396 healthy siblings of the epilepsy sufferers were assessed for the influence of genetic or early environmental risk factors.
Throughout the study, 6,155 (9%) people with epilepsy died compared with 4,892 (0.7%) of the general population who do not suffer from the disorder.
The most common cause of death in epilepsy sufferers was found to be what the researchers call "external causes", with 15.8% dying from suicides, accidents and assaults. Three-quarters of these 15.8% had been diagnosed with a mental disorder, and substance misuse and depression were the biggest mental health risk factors.
Seena Fazel of the University of Oxford, says:
"Our results have significant public health implications, as around 70 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and they emphasize that carefully assessing and treating psychiatric disorders as part of standard checks in persons with epilepsy could help reduce the risk of premature death in these patients."
"Our study also highlights the importance of suicide and non-vehicle accidents as major preventable causes of death in people with epilepsy."
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Early death 11 times more likely with epilepsy