title: Morbidity and mortality of childhood- and adolescent-onset epilepsy: A controlled national study.
abstract: Epilepsy is associated with significant morbidities and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the 30-year morbidities and mortality in a national group of patients after a first diagnosis of epilepsy.
  
  
  
  From the Danish National Patient Registry (NPR), in total, 3123 patients with epilepsy aged 0-5years and 5018 patients aged 6-20years diagnosed in 1998-2002 were identified and compared with, respectively, 6246 and 10,036 persons matched for age, gender, and place of living with randomly chosen citizens from the Danish Civil Registration System Statistics. In the NPR, all morbidities in the following 30years were grouped into major WHO disease classes.
  
  
  
  Patients with epilepsy had significantly higher rates of comorbidities including almost all health-related comorbidities compared with controls. Mortality rates were elevated: the hazard ratio (5%; 95% CI) was 14.46 (11.8; 17.7, p<0.001) and 5.58 (4.9; 6.4, P<0.001) for patients aged 0-5years and 6-20years at first diagnosis of epilepsy, respectively.
  
  
  
  Epilepsy is associated with significant comorbidities and mortality including all health care domains, especially among persons who were young at the onset of epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Neurophysiology Clinic, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: poul.joergen.jennum@regionh.dk.
authors.forename: Poul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jennum
authors.affiliation: Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Neurophysiology Clinic, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: line.pickering.boserup@regionh.dk.
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pickering
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: itracks, Klosterport 4E, 4, Aarhus, Denmark. Electronic address: rikke@itracks.dk.
authors.forename: Rikke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ibsen
authors.affiliation: Danish National Institute for Local and Regional Government Research, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: jakj@kora.dk.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kjellberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D012042:Registries; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescent; Childhood; Comorbidities; Controlled; Epilepsy; Mortality