Abstracts

Rationale: Several US states have added questions to ascertain epilepsy prevalence to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) yearly Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). There is a critical need for population-based research in epilepsy. In persons with epilepsy one previous study using the BRFSS data have found a lifetime prevalence of 2.1%. Surveyed persons with epilepsy reported lower educational attainment, lower household income and significantly worse health status. In 2006 the state of Ohio added 4 questions to the BRFSS related to epilepsy. We sought to make comparisons to previously published studies in other statesMethods: The BRFSS dataset and codebooks were obtained from the Ohio Department of Health. The dataset was analyzed with SAS using 4 questions to assess epilepsy prevalence, current treatment, seizure frequency and quality of life. Population adjustments were made based on guidelines provided by the CDCResults: In Ohio, 97 of 5,506 respondents reported having epilepsy yielding an unadjusted prevalence rate of 1.76% based on the question “Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have a seizure disorder or epilepsy?” Once population adjustments were made lifetime epilepsy prevalence, was 1.4764%, with 95% CI [0.8957%, 2.0571%]. Adjusted active epilepsy prevalence was 0.7425%, with 95% CI [0.3356%, 1.1494%] based on the question: “Are you currently taking any medication to control your seizure disorder or epilepsy?” - 58 (60%) reported yes and 39 (40%) reported no. For the question “How many seizures of any type have you had in the last three months?” 19 (20%) reported one/more than one, 75 (77%) reported none. For seizure frequency during the past three months among active epilepsy patients, it is 31.1474%, with 95% CI [5.8929%, 56.4019%]. When asked “During the past month, to what extent has epilepsy or its treatment interfered with your normal activities like working, school, socializing with family or friends?” 69 (71%) person reported “not at all”, 7 (7%) “slightly”, 5 (5%) “moderate”, 8 (8%) “quite a bit” and 6 (6%) “extremely”.Conclusions: For the state of Ohio adjusted epilepsy prevalence estimates support previous established epidemiology. The prevalence rate is somewhat lower than recently published estimates for Georgia and Tennessee from the BRFSS. We will look forward to other states adding questions to their BRFSS so that a more complete picture of the epidemiology of epilepsy will emerge for the entire nation.