Clinical and etiological profile of epilepsy in elderly: a hospital-based study from rural India

To determine the clinical profile and etiology of epilepsy in elderly patients in rural population of India which is in a phase of demographic transition with steadily growing geriatric population. A cross-sectional, prospective, hospital-based clinicoepidemiological study was performed from October 2014 to November 2015. Patients having onset of epilepsy after 60 years were incorporated in the study. We excluded the acute symptomatic seizures. One hundred and ten patients were enrolled and were divided into three standard subgroups: subgroup A (aged 60-70), subgroup B (aged 71-80), and subgroup C (aged 81-90). Out of 110 patients, 72 (65.45%) were male and 38 (34.54%) were female. The most common etiology was cerebrovascular disease (46.36%), followed by focal cerebral calcifications single or multiple (11.81%), tumors (9.09%), trauma (6.36%) dementias (6.36%) and unknown (16.63%). In our study, the frequency of epilepsy decreases with advancing age which was 77.27% in group A (less than 70 years), 16.36% in group B and 6.36% in group C (70-90 years).The most common type of seizure in the group studied was focal 59.09% followed by generalized seizures 37.27%. Hypertension was the most common co-morbidity found in 40 (36.36%) patients. The present study proposes that epilepsy in the elderly patients have etiological relationship with stroke, focal cerebral calcifications, tumors and dementias. CNS infections account for a significant number of cases of remote symptomatic epilepsy in elderly in our region where neurocysticercosis is endemic.