[Epidemiology of epilepsy in the U.S.L. 34, Copparo, Emilia-Romagna]

Incidence and prevalence investigations on childhood epilepsy, throughout the world, have suggested wide variations in the frequency of convulsive disorders. Also the few studies presently available from Italy mirror such a disagreement. However, these studies cannot be completely comparable owing to a marked methodological dishomogeneity in definition of epilepsy, classification of seizures, and ascertainment, collection, and selection of the cases. Therefore, to verify the true frequency of childhood epilepsy in our country, we performed an epidemiologic study of convulsive disorders in 0-14 age children of the U.S.L. 34 (Copparo, Northern Italy). The prevalence per 1.000 children on October 24, 1981 was 6.14 (6.4 if standardized to the Italian population). The average annual incidence for the period 1964 through 1980 was 95.1 per 100,000 (98.9 if standardized). These results, similar to those found in other Western countries, support the view that the frequency of childhood epilepsy in Italy as a whole is higher than that indicated by previously published Italian studies and furthermore suggest that epilepsy is evenly distributed in Europe and the United States. Antecedents which could be considered potential causes of seizures were found in 40.2% and 43.6% of the incidence and prevalence cases, respectively; for both groups, perinatal brain injuries were the most frequent event. These results point out the urgency of planning precautionary measures in Italy to improve prenatal and perinatal medical care.