Epidemiology

Epidemiological data for various forms of epilepsy can be difficult to ascertain due to variability in epilepsy classification and the age range of the population studied.

Studies based on the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification of epilepsy syndromes find the following:

Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE):[9][10][11]​​

  • Incidence is approximately 6.3 to 8.0 children per 100,000 per year.

  • Age at onset is typically between 4 and 10 years (range 2-13 years). In children with onset at age 10 years and older, the distinction between CAE and juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE) depends on the frequency of absence seizures.

  • More common in females than males.

  • Remits by early adolescence in around 60% of patients.

Juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE):[2][9]​​[12]

  • Fewer data on JAE are available, and it may be underdiagnosed.

  • Accounts for 2.4% to 3.1% of new-onset epilepsy in children and adolescents.

  • Estimated prevalence of 0.1 per 100,000 persons in the general population.

  • Age at onset is typically between 9 and 13 years (range 8-20 years).

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME):[9][13]

  • Incidence is reported as approximately 1 per 100,000.

  • Estimates of prevalence range from 1 to 3 per 10,000.

  • Age at onset is typically between 10 and 24 years (range 8-40 years).

  • A slight female predominance in JME has been reported.

  • JME appears to be less common in low- and middle-income countries.

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS):[8][14]​​[15][16]

  • Incidence in children younger than 15 years has been estimated at 1.93 per 100,000.

  • Lifetime prevalence at age 10 years has been estimated at 0.26 per 1000.

  • Estimated to account for approximately 1% to 2% of all people with epilepsy.

  • Age at onset is typically between 18 months and 8 years (peak 3-5 years).

  • Often evolves from another severe infantile epilepsy syndrome or aetiology.

  • A slightly higher frequency in males over females has been reported.

Epilepsy with myoclonic absence (EMA):[8][14]​​[17]

  • Minimal data are available on the incidence of EMA.

  • Reported in 2005 to accounted for 0.5% to 1% of all epilepsies observed at Centre Saint-Paul in Marseille, France, with a 70% male preponderance.

  • Incidence was reported to be 2.6% in a selected population of children (aged <15 years) with newly diagnosed epilepsy in Navarre, Spain, between 2002 and 2005.

  • Peak age at onset is approximately 7 years (range 1-12 years).

Epilepsy with eyelid myoclonia (EEM):[14]

  • Rare; no population-based studies on incidence.

  • Studies from epilepsy centers report that it accounts for 1.2% to 2.7% of all patients with epilepsy.

  • Peak age at onset is between 6 and 8 years (range 2-14 years).

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