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VIRTUALISATION CDC study: 0.84% of U.S. adults have active epilepsy
VIRTUALISATION CDC study: 0.84% of U.S. adults have active epilepsy | CDC study: 0.84% of U.S. adults have active epilepsy |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Monday, 11 August 2008 | |
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Approximately 0.75% of the U.S. adult population was found to have inactive epilepsy (that is, a history of epilepsy or seizure disorder but one in which the adults were not currently taking medicine to control epilepsy and did not have any seizures over the three months before taking the survey). In addition, 1.65% of the adult U.S. population stated on the survey, which was released on Thursday, August 7, 2008, that they had been told by a medical doctor that they had epilepsy or a seizure disorder. Thus, about one-half of these people (0.84% from the 1.65%) with epilepsy have active epilepsy, or a seizure disorder in which one or more seizures occur over a three-month period or while taking medication. The CDC researchers used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which surveyed over 120,000 adults in the United States. The BRFSS is a continuing, U.S. state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of the non-institutionalized U.S. population aged 18 years and over. Some of the epilepsy-based questions on the BRFSS survey included: "Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have a seizure disorder or epilepsy?"; "Are you currently taking any medicine to control your seizure disorder or epilepsy?"; and "How many seizures have you had in the last 3 months?". Further questions included: "In the past year, have you seen a neurologist or epilepsy specialist for your epilepsy or seizure disorder?" and "During the past 30 days, to what extent has epilepsy or its treatment interfered with your normal activities like working, school, or socializing with family or friends?". The conclusions of the study were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The title of the CDC paper is “Epilepsy Surveillance Among Adults—19 States, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2005.” Its authors include Rosemarie Kobau, David J. Thurman, Matthew M. Zack, and Patricia H. Price (CDC’s Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion), Hatice Zahran (CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry), Thomas R. Henry (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota), and Steven C. Schachter (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts). Please read page two for specific statistics found within the CDC study. |
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