Schiariti Veronica, Farrell Kevin, Houbé Jill S, Lisonkova Sarka
Department of Pediatrics, British Columbia Children's Hospital, Canada.
Can J Neurol Sci. 2009 Jan;36(1):36-41. doi: 10.1017/s0317167100006284.
Most estimates of the prevalence of seizure disorders in Canada derive from national surveys which differ in sampling and case-finding methods. This study used health care utilization data to make a population-based estimate of the prevalence of epileptic seizures and of epilepsy in children in British Columbia (BC).
All BC residents between 0-19 years-of-age in 2002-3 enrolled in the Medical Services Plan were included. Epileptic seizures were defined using ICD-9 codes; health care utilization data was obtained from BC Linked Health Database. The period prevalence of epileptic seizures and of epilepsy was determined by age, urban/rural region and socioeconomic status.
8,125 of 1,013,816 children were identified as having an epileptic seizure of which 5621 were classified as epilepsy--5.5 per 1000 children (95% CI: 5.4-5.7). The prevalence of epilepsy in infants and preschoolers was higher than that reported in the literature. A higher prevalence of epilepsy was observed also among those with low socioeconomic status. A higher prevalence of epilepsy was observed in those health regions with a higher proportion of First Nations and a lower prevalence was observed in health regions with a higher proportion of visible minorities.
Age-specific prevalence rates in BC children for epilepsy, determined from population-based administrative records, were similar to published data except in children under five years. We found a gradient of increased prevalence with decreased level of income. Prevalence rates based on utilization data have the potential to guide program planning for children with epileptic seizures.
加拿大癫痫疾病患病率的大多数估计值来自全国性调查，这些调查在抽样和病例发现方法上存在差异。本研究利用医疗保健利用数据，对不列颠哥伦比亚省（BC）儿童癫痫发作和癫痫的患病率进行了基于人群的估计。
纳入2002 - 2003年参加医疗服务计划的所有0至19岁的BC居民。使用国际疾病分类第九版（ICD - 9）编码定义癫痫发作；医疗保健利用数据从BC联合健康数据库中获取。通过年龄、城乡地区和社会经济地位确定癫痫发作和癫痫的期间患病率。
在1,013,816名儿童中，有8125名被确定患有癫痫发作，其中5621名被归类为癫痫——每1000名儿童中有5.5例（95%置信区间：5.4 - 5.7）。婴儿和学龄前儿童的癫痫患病率高于文献报道。社会经济地位较低者的癫痫患病率也较高。在第一民族比例较高的健康地区观察到较高的癫痫患病率，而在可见少数族裔比例较高的健康地区观察到较低的患病率。
根据基于人群的行政记录确定的BC儿童癫痫的年龄特异性患病率与已发表的数据相似，但五岁以下儿童除外。我们发现患病率随着收入水平的降低而呈上升梯度。基于利用数据的患病率有可能指导癫痫发作儿童的项目规划。
