Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Feb;103(2-3):279-87.
doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2012.07.005. Epub 2012 Aug 2.

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in epilepsy in the District of Columbia

Barbara L Kroner  1 , Mansour Fahimi, Anne Kenyon, David J Thurman, William D Gaillard
Affiliations

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in epilepsy in the District of Columbia

Barbara L Kroner et al. Epilepsy Res. 2013 Feb.

Abstract

We investigated social and demographic factors as they relate to prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in Washington, DC, a culturally diverse area. Probability-based sampling was used to select 20,000 households to complete a mailed epilepsy screening survey on all household members. Screened individuals with a history of epilepsy were sent a detailed case survey about seizures and treatment. Prevalence and incidence of epilepsy were estimated using weighted data. Lifetime prevalence was 1.53% overall; 0.77% in Whites, 2.13% in Blacks, and 3.4% in those with less than a high school diploma. Prevalence of active epilepsy was 0.79% and followed similar subgroup comparisons as lifetime prevalence. Age-adjusted lifetime and active epilepsy from multivariate analyses demonstrated significantly higher rates for Blacks compared to Whites and for those not completing high school compared to those that attended graduate school. The incidence of epilepsy was 71 per 100,000 persons. Adults with active epilepsy were significantly less likely to live alone than those without epilepsy. Residents of DC for <4 years had the lowest prevalence and incidence of all subgroups indicating a possible healthy mover effect. This is the first study to provide estimates and profiles of the epilepsy population in DC which can help better target resources to improve the health and outcomes of people with epilepsy and their families.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

None of the authors has any conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Data Collection Flow and Response Rates
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Banerjee PN, Hauser WA. Incidence and prevalence. In: Engel J Jr, Pedley TA, editors. Epilepsy: a comprehensive textbook. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008. pp. 45–56.
    1. Berg AT, Hesdorffer DC, Zelko FA. Special education participation in children with epilepsy: what does it reflect? Epilepsy Behav. 2011;22(2):336–341. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Biener L, Garrett CA, Gilpin EA, Roman AM, Currivan DB. Consequences of declining survey response rates for smoking prevalence estimates. Am J Prev Med. 2004;27(3):254–257. - PubMed
    1. Burneo JG, Jette N, Theodore W, Begley C, Parko K, Thurman DJ, Wiebe S Task Force on Disparities in Epilepsy Care; North American Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy. Disparities in epilepsy: Report of a systematic review by the North American Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2009;50(10):2285–2295. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Commission on Epidemiology and Prognosis of the International League Against Epilepsy. Guidelines for epidemiologic studies on epilepsy. Epilepsia. 1993;34:592–596. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms