title: Risk of epilepsy in stroke patients receiving acupuncture treatment: a nationwide retrospective matched-cohort study.
abstract: To investigate the risk of epilepsy in stroke patients receiving and not receiving acupuncture treatment.
  
  
  
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  
  This study was based on Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database that included information on stroke patients hospitalised between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004.
  
  
  
  We identified 42 040 patients hospitalised with newly diagnosed stroke who were aged 20 years and above.
  
  
  
  We compared incident epilepsy during the follow-up period until the end of 2009 in stroke patients who were and were not receiving acupuncture. The adjusted HRs and 95% CIs of epilepsy associated with acupuncture were calculated using multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression.
  
  
  
  Stroke patients who received acupuncture treatment (9.8 per 1000 person-years) experienced a reduced incidence of epilepsy compared to those who did not receive acupuncture treatment (11.5 per 1000 person-years), with an HR of 0.74 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.80) after adjustment for sociodemographic factors and coexisting medical conditions. Acupuncture treatment was associated with a decreased risk of epilepsy, particularly among stroke patients aged 20-69 years. The log-rank test probability curve indicated that stroke patients receiving acupuncture treatment had a reduced probability of epilepsy compared with individuals who did not receive acupuncture treatment during the follow-up period (p<0.0001).
  
  
  
  Stroke patients who received acupuncture treatment had a reduced risk of epilepsy compared with those not receiving acupuncture treatment. However, the protective effects associated with acupuncture treatment require further validation in prospective cohort studies.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan Department of Chinese Medicine, Taichung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Wen
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan Health Policy Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Chang
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan Department of Surgery, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Chun-Chieh
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan Health Policy Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ta-Liang
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine for Post-Baccalaureate, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin-Long
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jaung-Geng
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine for Post-Baccalaureate, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan Program for the Clinical Drug Discovery from Botanical Herbs, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Shih
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acupuncture