title: Underlying cause of death in incident unprovoked seizures in the urban community of Northern Manhattan, New York City.
abstract: We determined underlying cause-specific mortality for incident unprovoked seizures from Northern Manhattan, New York City. We calculated the case fatality, proportionate mortality, and the underlying cause-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), with U.S. death rates as the standard. Thirty-two deaths were observed between 2003 and 2007 among 209 participants. Case fatality was significantly lower for idiopathic/cryptogenic seizures versus symptomatic seizures. About 31.3% of the deaths were attributed to malignant neoplasms, 25.0% to diseases of the heart, 15.6% to influenza and pneumonia, 3.1% to cerebrovascular diseases, and 25.0% to other causes. Significant SMRs were observed for all causes (SMR = 1.6), influenza and pneumonia (SMR = 7.1), and malignant neoplasms (SMR = 2.9). Younger cases (<65 years) had increased SMRs for all causes, malignant neoplasms, and other causes. Older cases (> or =65 years) had increased SMRs for influenza and pneumonia. Underlying cause of death paralleled the underlying cause of seizure in patients with symptomatic etiologies.
authors.affiliation: Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Emma K T
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Benn
authors.forename: W Allen
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leary
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bagiella
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dayan
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Thurman
authors.forename: Dale C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Hesdorffer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000208:ethnology; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*