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Epilepsy trigger factors in Saudi Arabia. A missing part of the puzzle
Foziah J Alshamrani1, Mohammed A Alshurem, Mohammed F Almuaigel
1Neurology Department, College of Medicine Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Al Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail. fshamrani@iau.edu.sa.
Objectives:
To identify epilepsy triggers prevalent in Saudi Arabia with a view to seizure prevention or achieving a reduction in their frequency.
Methods:
This is part of a cross-sectional study carried out in 2020 in a Saudi population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We used an online questionnaire to evaluate the most common seizure trigger factors.
Results:
A total of 546 Saudi patients with epilepsy participated in the study, of which 289 (53%) were women. Of them, 263 (48.1%) had no seizure in the previous 3 months. One hundred and thirty-six (25%) had a family member with epilepsy. The most-reported trigger factor was sleep deprivation reported by 285 (52%), followed by stress 225 (41%), missed medication 210 (38.5%), anxiety 209 (38.3%), and fatigue 184 (33.7%). Conclusions: Sleep deprivation is the most reported trigger factor for seizures in the KSA, followed by stress, followed by missed medication.
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