Epidemiological survey of epilepsy in Dongning county, a rural area in Heilongjiang Province of China
Abstract：AIM: To provide reliable epidemiological data for epilepsy in the rural areas in China.METHODS: An epidemiological survey of epilepsy using the questionnaire recommended was conducted among 10 151 of 10 823 rural population from the 4 towns and 6 villages in Dongning county, Heilongjiang Province, China. A random cluster sampling study was adopted and all the patients identified were thoroughly examined by experienced neurologists.RESULTS: Eighty-one epileptic patients were identified. The total prevalence rate(PR) of epilepsy was 7.98 per 1 000, and the age-specific PR was highest in the participants 50- 59 years of age. The annual onset rate of epilepsy was 9. 85 per 100 000, with over 50% of the initial onsets occurring within the first two decades of life. As much as 79.01% of the patients had idiopathic epilepsy. Central nervous system(CNS) infection was the main cause of symptomatic epilepsy. In regard with the types of seizures, the commonest was generalized tonic-clonic seizure that occurred in 82.95% of all the cases. The percentage of patients receiving no or inadequate treatment reached 60% in the rural areas.CONCLUSION: The PR of epilepsy in Dongning County is very high. Seizure onset mostly occurs within the first 2 decades of life, and the majority of the cases fail to receive adequate treatment in this rural area.
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Publication Date：2004-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：2( 770-771 )