title: Chronic alcohol use and first symptomatic epileptic seizures.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish whether chronic alcoholism and alcohol consumption are risk factors for developing a first symptomatic epileptic seizure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multicentre case-control study of 293 patients (160 men, 133 women) with a first seizure symptomatic (either acute or remote) of head trauma, stroke, or brain tumour, matched to 444 hospital controls for centre, sex, age (+/-5 years), and underlying pathology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The risk of first seizure in alcoholics was no higher than in non-alcoholics for men (odds ratio 1.2, 95% confidence interval 0.4 to 3.2) or women (1.5, 0.1 to 54.4). The odds ratio (both sexes) was 1.2 (0.8 to 1.7) for an average intake of absolute alcohol of 1-25 g/day, 0.9 (0.5 to 1.5) for 26-50 g/day, 1.6 (0.8 to 3.0) for 51-100 g/day, and 1.4 (0.5 to 3.5) for >100 g/day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found no evidence of an association between alcohol use or alcoholism and a first symptomatic seizure.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Neurologica, Università A. Avogadro, Novara. leomau@iol.it
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tonini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bogliun
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Monaco
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mutani
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bottacchi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gambaro
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rocci
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tassinari
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cavestro
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beghi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires