Premium
EPIMART: Prospective Incidence Study of Epileptic Seizures in Newly Referred Patients in a French Carribean Island (Martinique)
Author(s) -
Jallon Perre,
Smadja Didier,
Cabre Philippe,
Mab Guillaume,
Bazin Marcel
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1999.tb00826.x
Subject(s) - martinique , pediatrics , etiology , epilepsy , medicine , incidence (geometry) , population , stroke (engine) , west indies , psychiatry , mechanical engineering , ethnology , physics , environmental health , optics , history , engineering
Summary:Purpose: To identify, in the population living in the island of Martinique, persons who had their first epileptic seizure or first came to medical attention because of an epileptic seizure. Methods: Between May 1, 1994, and April 30, 1995, we collected all suspected cases of provoked and unprovoked epileptic seizures admitted to the hospitals or addressed to the private neurologists or pediatricians of the island. Results: Three hundred nine cases were collected. Rate of initial diagnosis of provoked and nonprovoked seizures (standardized to the U.S. population): 77.7/100,000, with a bimodal distribution of the cases with age (86 in 0‐ to 10‐year age group and 203 in patients older than 60 years). Sixty‐three cases were classified as provoked seizures (incidence, 16.4/100,000). Alcohol consumption, stroke, and cranial trauma were the most frequent causes (30.1, 20.6, and 18.7%, respectively). Two hundred forty‐six cases were classified as unprovoked seizures (incidence, 64.1): seizures with a stable condition, 74 cases (I, 19.3); seizures with an evolutive condition, 17 cases (I, 4.5); seizures of unknown etiology, 155 cases (I, 40.4). These figures must be considered as the minimal rate. Conclusions: The global incidence rate of newly referred persons with a diagnosis of epileptic seizures in this study is clearly higher than those observed in industrialized countries but lower than those in developing countries. The major risk factors are represented by alcohol consumption, followed by stroke, cranial trauma, and infectious diseases.