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
Meta-Analysis
. 2017 Jan 17;88(3):296-303.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003509. Epub 2016 Dec 16.

Prevalence and incidence of epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of international studies

Kirsten M Fiest  1 , Khara M Sauro  1 , Samuel Wiebe  1 , Scott B Patten  1 , Churl-Su Kwon  1 , Jonathan Dykeman  1 , Tamara Pringsheim  1 , Diane L Lorenzetti  1 , Nathalie Jetté  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence and incidence of epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of international studies

Kirsten M Fiest et al. Neurology. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective: To review population-based studies of the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy worldwide and use meta-analytic techniques to explore factors that may explain heterogeneity between estimates.

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses standards were followed. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE for articles published on the prevalence or incidence of epilepsy since 1985. Abstract, full-text review, and data abstraction were conducted in duplicate. Meta-analyses and meta-regressions were used to explore the association between prevalence or incidence, age group, sex, country level income, and study quality.

Results: A total of 222 studies were included (197 on prevalence, 48 on incidence). The point prevalence of active epilepsy was 6.38 per 1,000 persons (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 5.57-7.30), while the lifetime prevalence was 7.60 per 1,000 persons (95% CI 6.17-9.38). The annual cumulative incidence of epilepsy was 67.77 per 100,000 persons (95% CI 56.69-81.03) while the incidence rate was 61.44 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI 50.75-74.38). The prevalence of epilepsy did not differ by age group, sex, or study quality. The active annual period prevalence, lifetime prevalence, and incidence rate of epilepsy were higher in low to middle income countries. Epilepsies of unknown etiology and those with generalized seizures had the highest prevalence.

Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive synthesis of the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy from published international studies and offers insight into factors that contribute to heterogeneity between estimates. Significant gaps (e.g., lack of incidence studies, stratification by age groups) were identified. Standardized reporting of future epidemiologic studies of epilepsy is needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Study flow diagram
*Incidence and prevalence studies equal greater than 222 because 24 articles reported both incidence and prevalence.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Active period prevalence of epilepsy
*Study numbers correspond to references in appendix e-3. CI = confidence interval.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Incidence of epilepsy
(A) Cumulative incidence of epilepsy. (B) Incidence rate of epilepsy. Study numbers correspond to references in appendix e-3. CI = confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Fiest KM, Birbeck GL, Jacoby A, Jette N. Stigma in epilepsy. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 2014;14:444. - PubMed
    1. Tellez-Zenteno JF, Patten SB, Jette N, Williams J, Wiebe S. Psychiatric comorbidity in epilepsy: a population-based analysis. Epilepsia 2007;48:2336–2344. - PubMed
    1. Begley CE, Beghi E. The economic cost of epilepsy: a review of the literature. Epilepsia 2002;43(suppl 4):3–9. - PubMed
    1. Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, et al. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet 2012;380:2197–2223. - PubMed
    1. Gu L, Liang B, Chen Q, et al. Prevalence of epilepsy in the People's Republic of China: a systematic review. Epilepsy Res 2013;105:195–205. - PubMed