title: Ethnic variation of genetic (idiopathic) generalized epilepsy in Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ethnic variation in epilepsy classification was reported in the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project. This study aimed to determine the ethnic variation in the prevalence of genetic (idiopathic) generalized epilepsy (GGE) and GGE with family history in a multi-ethnic Asian population in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, 392 patients with a clinical diagnosis of GGE were recruited in the neurology outpatient clinic, University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), from January 2011 till April 2016.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our epilepsy cohort (n=2100), 18.7% were diagnosed to have GGE. Of those, 28.6% >(N=112) had family history of epilepsy with a mean age of seizure onset of 16.5 years old, and 42.0% had myoclonic seizures (N=47). The lifetime prevalence of epilepsy among first-degree relative of those with GGE and positive family history was 15.0%. Analysis according to ethnicity showed that Malaysian Chinese had the lowest percentage of GGE among those with epilepsy (12.3%), as compared with Indian and Malay (25.3% and 21.3%, p<0.001). In addition, 32.1% of these Indian patients with GGE had positive family history, which is more than the Malay (26.4%) and Chinese (27.5%) ethnic groups. Consanguineous marriage was noted in 5 Indian families with positive family history (9.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was ethnic variation in the prevalence of GGE, whereby the Malaysian Chinese had the lowest percentage of GGE as compared with Indian and Malay. A substantial proportion of GGE had positive family history among the three ethnics groups.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia. Electronic address: kslimum@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kheng Seang
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ching Ching
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia; Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chung Kin
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia; Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Wee Shean
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia; Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Joyce Siew Yong
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Low
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chong Tin
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Epilepsy; Familial epilepsy; Genetic generalized epilepsy; Genetics; Idiopathic generalized epilepsy