CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Epilepsia. 2011 Sep;52 Suppl 7:2-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03121.x.
Worldwide, about 65 million people are estimated to have epilepsy. Epidemiologic studies are necessary to define the full public health burden of epilepsy; to set public health and health care priorities; to provide information needed for prevention, early detection, and treatment; to identify education and service needs; and to promote effective health care and support programs for people with epilepsy. However, different definitions and epidemiologic methods complicate the tasks of these studies and their interpretations and comparisons. The purpose of this document is to promote consistency in definitions and methods in an effort to enhance future population-based epidemiologic studies, facilitate comparison between populations, and encourage the collection of data useful for the promotion of public health. We discuss: (1) conceptual and operational definitions of epilepsy, (2) data resources and recommended data elements, and (3) methods and analyses appropriate for epidemiologic studies or the surveillance of epilepsy. Variations in these are considered, taking into account differing resource availability and needs among countries and differing purposes among studies.
据估计，全球约有 6500 万人患有癫痫。开展流行病学研究对于明确癫痫的全部公共卫生负担、确定公共卫生和医疗保健重点、为预防、早期发现和治疗提供所需信息、确定教育和服务需求以及促进癫痫患者的有效医疗和支持计划至关重要。然而，不同的定义和流行病学方法使这些研究及其解释和比较变得复杂。本文件的目的是促进定义和方法的一致性，以加强未来的基于人群的流行病学研究，促进人群之间的比较，并鼓励收集有利于促进公共卫生的数据。我们讨论了：（1）癫痫的概念和操作定义，（2）数据资源和建议的数据元素，以及（3）适用于流行病学研究或癫痫监测的方法和分析。考虑到各国之间资源可用性和需求的差异以及研究目的的不同，对这些方面的差异进行了考虑。
