Trends of idiopathic epilepsy incidence among global adolescents and young adults from 1990 to 2021:An age-period-cohort analysis

GENG Xiao; SUN Linlin; ZHANG Bingying; CHEN Xiang; CHU Guangxin

doi:10.3639/j.issn.1671-2897.2025.04.006

Abstract：Objective To analyze the trend of idiopathic epilepsy incidence among global adolescents and young adults from 1990 to 2021 by exploring the impact of age,period,and cohort factors on the incidence rate of idiopathic epilepsy so as to provide reference for the formulation of prevention and control strategies for idiopathic epilepsy among adolescents and young adults.Methods The Global Burden of Disease Database 2019 was used as the data source to extract the number of idiopathic epilepsy cases,crude incidence rate,standardized incidence rate,etc.among global adolescents and young adults from 1990 to 2021.The Joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the trend of idiopathic epilepsy incidence among global adolescents and young adults from 1990 to 2021 and calculate the annual percentage change(APC)and average annual percentage change(AAPC).The age-period-cohort model was used to analyze the impact of age,period,and cohort factors on the incidence rate of idiopathic epilepsy.Results Between 1990 and 2021,the incidence of idiopathic epilepsy among global adolescents and young adults increased from 690 831 cases to 1 016 767 cases,an increase of 47.18%.The crude incidence rate increased from 37.55 per 100 000 to 42.12 per 100 000,an increase of 12.17%.The standardized incidence rate increased from 37.25 per 100 000 to 42.35 per 100 000,an increase of 13.69%.Compared with 1990,the incidence rate,crude incidence rate,and standardized incidence rate among males increased by 50.82%,14.30%,and 15.30%respectively,while among females,they increased by 43.18%,9.72%,and 11.34%respectively.The Joinpoint regression model analysis showed that the standardized incidence rates of idiopathic epilepsy among the global adolescents and young adults,as well as among males and females,increased from 1990 to 2021,with AAPCs of 0.41%,0.47%,and 0.34%respectively,all of which were statistically significant(t=22.17,32.31,13.22,P<0.01).The results of the age-period-cohort model showed that the incidence of idiopathic epilepsy among global adolescents and young adults in each period decreased with age.The age-specific incidence rate increased slowly with the progression of birth cohorts,and the onset age of epilepsy became younger.Conclusion The incidence of idiopathic epilepsy among global adolescents and young adults has shown an upward trend from 1990 to 2021,with a higher incidence among younger age groups.Therefore,the prevention and control of idiopathic epilepsy among adolescents and young adults will be a key issue in the future.