Deprivation and incidence of epilepsy in children.
OBJECTIVE
To determine differences in the incidence of epilepsy associated with deprivation.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study of new cases of epilepsy presenting over 3 years linked to census based population and deprivation data.


METHODS
Norfolk UK.


METHODS
Children aged 29 days to 14 years presenting to the only district hospital serving the study area.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
Incidence of epilepsy in quartiles of areas defined by Townsend deprivation score.


RESULTS
Overall annual incidence of epilepsy was 6.63 cases per 10,000. There was no association between epilepsy incidence and deprivation with rates of 6.5, 8.0, 4.1 and 7.9 per 10,000 per year, respectively, in areas with increasing levels of deprivation. Proportions of children investigated for possible epilepsy and of children treated for epilepsy showed no social variation.


CONCLUSIONS
We did not find social inequalities in the incidence of epilepsy in children. Nor was there evidence for the inverse care law in the investigation or treatment of epilepsy in children.
School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK. r.reading@uae.ac.uk
Richard
R
Reading
Robin
R
Haynes
Richard
R
Beach
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D012924:Social Conditions; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology