Prevalence of epilepsy in northeast Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of active epilepsy in the population, aged 15 and over, in the province of Trabzon in northern Turkey. We surveyed households and identified 34 epileptic patients (prevalence of 6/1,000), 28 of whom had active epilepsy (prevalence of 5/1,000). Only one case of hot water epilepsy was established among the 5,254 participants. Of the various seizure types, the most common were partial seizures (63%), over half of which were secondary generalised seizures. The largest syndromic category was that of localisation-related symptomatic cases (46%). Forty-six percent of cases were of unknown cause, and 16% were resistant to medication. The prevalence rate of active epilepsy in Trabzon is low compared to other parts of Turkey and other developing countries. This may be attributable to several factors, and particularly to variations among socio-economic factors. The population of Trabzon is regarded as relatively stable and homogenous, and socio-demographic and health data for the province of Trabzon are much better than those for the rest of the country.