title: Seizures and head injury in an urban community.
abstract: Among 811 patients hospitalized for head injury (HI) in the Bronx, 14 (1.7%) had HI caused by a seizure, 47 (5.8%) had a history of seizures of some type unrelated to the index HI episode, and 40 (4.9%) had a history of single or recurrent unprovoked seizures. The 40 patients who had unprovoked seizures and HI not caused by a seizure tended to have more severe HI and were more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, but were otherwise similar to HI patients without a history of epilepsy. The number of cases observed is increased threefold over that expected if rates were similar to those in the predominantly white middle-class community of Rochester, MN. We estimate the prevalence of epilepsy in the Bronx to be between 2.4 and 4.7%.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D009519:New York City; D012306:Risk; D012640:Seizures / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D014505:Urban Population