title: Prevalence of epilepsy in the 15 years and older in Benin: a door-to-door nationwide survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Estimate the prevalence of epilepsy in the 15 years and older in Benin.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a random multistage sampling design to select a representative sample of the 15 years and older in Benin. From March to May 2010, people were screened door-to-door in the twelve regions of Benin. Screening and data collection were performed using a validated standardised questionnaire of epilepsy in tropical regions. A neurologist examined all people suspected of epilepsy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 174 suspected epilepsy cases from 13,046 screened people; 105 were confirmed by the neurologist (54 men and 51 women). The mean age of PWE was 28.9±14.3 years. The estimate of crude prevalence of epilepsy in the 15 years and older in Benin was 8.05/1000 (95% CI: 6.52-9.58/1000). The crude prevalence of epilepsy among men was 9.77/1000 (95% CI 7.35-12.73/1000) and 6.79/1000 (95% CI 5.06-8.91/1000) for women. The age-adjusted prevalence of epilepsy on sub-Saharan Africa population was 8.25/1000 and 7.33/1000 on world population. Substantial heterogeneity was noted, with differences from one region to another. The most common seizure types were generalised tonic-clonic (80.0%), partial secondary generalised seizures (14.3%) and partial seizures (5.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This nationwide study is the first in West Africa. It provides a low prevalence of epilepsy in Benin compared to previous studies performed in this country and in neighbouring countries. Restricted-area studies are often motivated by the presence of specific risk factors and could overestimate the prevalence, while large-scale studies could underestimate other subtle forms of epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1094, Tropical Neuroepidemiology, University Limoges, School of Medicine, Institute of Tropical Neurology, CHU Limoges, 2 rue du Docteur Marcland, 87025 Limoges Cedex, France. luce.yemadje@etu.unilim.fr
authors.forename: Luce-Perrine
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Yemadje
authors.forename: Dismand
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Houinato
authors.forename: Farid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boumédiène
authors.forename: Edgar Brice
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Ngoungou
authors.forename: Pierre-Marie
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Preux
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Druet-Cabanac
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001541:Benin / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult