Frequency of unemployment among epileptic patients in Tikrit, Iraq.

Epilepsy is a chronic illness that affects all ages and which has long-term complications, such as impairment of employability. We estimated the unemployment rate among 100 epileptic patients attending two public medical clinics in Tikrit. The overall rate of unemployment was 33%. The rate was significantly greater in those whose epilepsy was not controlled and those in whom the age at onset of epilepsy was younger.