title: Prevalence of epilepsy and health-related quality of life and disability among adults with epilepsy--South Carolina, 2003 and 2004.
abstract: Epilepsy is a common neurologic disorder and poses substantial burdens on physical and mental health. Epilepsy can interfere with social functioning by limiting employment, educational opportunities, and interpersonal relationships and can increase the risk for death. The annual cost of cases of epilepsy in the United States, including direct medical costs and productivity losses, was estimated at $12.5 billion in 1995. Depending on case definitions and populations studied, epilepsy affects an estimated 0.4%-1.0% of the population with a lifetime prevalence of 1.8%-2.6% in certain state populations. This report analyzes data from the 2003 and 2004 South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys, which included questions on epilepsy, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and disability. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which determined that 2.2% of adults in South Carolina had ever been told they had epilepsy, 1.1% had active epilepsy, and both groups reported worse HRQOL and higher prevalence of disability than those who had never had epilepsy. Health-care providers should screen epilepsy patients for cognitive, emotional, and physical health problems that might negatively affect HRQOL. Patients with active epilepsy and recent seizures should be targeted with interventions that will decrease the risk for adverse physical (e.g., injury) and psychosocial (e.g., unemployment) outcomes that accompany continued seizures.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013022:South Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology