Prevalence, Demographic Profile, and Psychological Aspects of Epilepsy in North-Western India: A Community-Based Observational Study.

AIMS

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of active epilepsy, assess the sociodemographic profile, and psychological aspects of epilepsy in the Jaipur district of Rajasthan, India.

METHODS

We conducted a community-based, cross-sectional observational study covering both rural ( = 165,660) and urban ( = 179,142) populations of Jaipur district using a house-to-house survey. An adapted, pre-designed World Health Organization screening questionnaire was used to identify the cases. Those confirmed by neurologists as true seizures were included in the study. Cases were classified as per the International League against Epilepsy recommendation. Global Mental Health Assessment Tool electronic questionnaire was used to analyze psychological aspects of cases. The caregivers of the patients participated in the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) survey.

RESULTS

A total of 380 patients (258 men, 122 women) were identified with active epilepsy. The estimated prevalence of active epilepsy was 1.1/1,000 population and 71% of cases belonged to low socioeconomic classes. Primary treatment gap was documented in 18.8% of cases in our study, 38% of cases were non-compliant to treatment with poorer compliance in those on pol-therapy, 76% had some psychiatric disorder, anxiety and depression being the commonest, and positive family history of epilepsy was found in 4.7%. KAP survey revealed that only 15% of the respondents believed that epilepsy is non-curable, 74% denied its infectious nature, 26% believed that epilepsy occurs due to past sins, and 81% said that they would not marry persons with epilepsy.

CONCLUSION

A relatively low prevalence (1.1/1,000) of active epilepsy and a smaller primary treatment gap (18.8%) was found in our study population. Almost three-fourth of cases had an associated psychological problem, Though caregivers were aware of the nature of disease, majority would not prefer to marry a person suffering from epilepsy.