Abstracts

Post-traumatic Epilepsy – Socioeconomic and Clinical Characteristics in a Non-Military Population

Abstract number : 1.237
Submission category : 4. Clinical Epilepsy / 4D. Prognosis
Year : 2023
Submission ID : 374
Source : www.aesnet.org
Presentation date : 12/2/2023 12:00:00 AM
Published date :

Authors :
Presenting Author: Markus Karlander, MD – Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg

David Larsson, MD, PhD – Department of Clinical Neuroscience – Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology,, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University; Klara Andersson, MD, PhD – Department of Clinical Neuroscience – Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology,, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University; Fredrik Asztély, MD, PhD – Department of Clinical Neuroscience – Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology,, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University; Johan Zelano, MD, PhD – Department of Clinical Neuroscience – Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology,, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University

Rationale: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of epilepsy, and post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) may have major impacts on life. US Studies show that war veterans with PTE not only often have a drug-resistant epilepsy but also a more disadvantaged socioeconomic situation. Our aim was to analyze how individuals with PTE differed from individuals with cryptogenic epilepsy (CE) in a non-military population in Sweden, with focus on the severity and frequency of seizures and socioeconomic consequences. We hypothesized that individuals with PTE would have more severe, and frequent seizures, more days on sick leave due to epilepsy, lower employment rate, and poorer compliance to anti-seizure medication (ASM) than individuals with CE.

Methods: We analyzed individuals with PTE or CE using the Prospective Regional Epilepsy Database and Biobank for Individualized Clinical Treatment – PREDICT (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04559919). The database includes 481 adult individuals with epilepsy in our region, with information on epilepsy and socioeconomic outcomes obtained through medical records and patient questionnaires.

Results: The final cohort consisted of 26 individuals with PTE and 139 with CE. The median age at inclusion was 52 in the PTE group and 38 in the CE group. We found that individuals with PTE in working age were less frequently employed compared to individuals with CE (42.1% vs. 82.7%; p < 0.001). We did not find any significant differences of seizure severity, frequency, or the number of days on sick leave due to epilepsy between the groups. Similarly, there were no differences in ASM compliance.
Clinical Epilepsy