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The prevalence and incidence of convulsive disorders in children
1Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032.
Insights
Annually, 150,000 US children are evaluated for new seizure disorders. Febrile seizures affect 2-4% of children before age 5, while epilepsy incidence is consistent globally, impacting 50-100/100,000 pediatric cases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Epidemiology
- Childhood Seizure Disorders
Background:
- Approximately 150,000 children and adolescents in the US are evaluated annually for new-onset seizure disorders.
- Febrile convulsions affect 2-4% of children in Europe and the US before age 5, with significant geographic variation.
- Epilepsy incidence in children and adolescents is consistent globally, ranging from 50 to 100 per 100,000 population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of the incidence and types of newly diagnosed seizure disorders in children and adolescents.
- To highlight the prevalence of febrile seizures and epilepsy in pediatric populations.
- To estimate the number of newly diagnosed convulsive disorders in the United States in 1990.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing epidemiological data on childhood seizures and epilepsy.
- Analysis of incidence rates across different age groups and geographic regions.
- Estimation of specific disorder diagnoses based on available statistics.
Main Results:
- Febrile seizures are common, peaking in the second year of life, with incidence varying by region.
- Epilepsy incidence is relatively stable across populations, with the highest rates in the first year of life.
- In 1990, estimated US diagnoses included 100,000 febrile seizures, 30,000 epilepsy cases, and other seizure types.
Conclusions:
- Seizure disorders represent a significant medical concern for children and adolescents.
- Understanding the incidence of various seizure types is crucial for diagnosis and management.
- Further research into the causes and treatments of pediatric epilepsy is warranted.
Abstract:
Each year, about 150,000 children and adolescents in the United States will come to medical attention for evaluation of a newly occurring seizure disorder of some type. Between 2% and 4% of all children in Europe and the United States experience at least one convulsion associated with a febrile illness before the age of 5 years. The cumulative incidence of febrile convulsions among children ranges from about 1% in China to more than 8% in Japan and 14% in Guam. The peak incidence of a first febrile convulsion occurs in the second year of life. Between 0.5% and 1% of children and adolescents experience a seizure associated with other acute metabolic or neurologic insults; most of these occur in the neonatal period. The incidence of epilepsy (recurrent unprovoked seizures) in children and adolescents seems relatively consistent across all populations studied, ranging from 50 to 100/100,000. The highest incidence of epilepsy is in the first year of life. West syndrome accounts for about 2% of all childhood epilepsy. Lennox-Gastaut syndrome for 1-2%, childhood absence epilepsy (pyknolepsy) for 10-15%, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy for 5%, and idiopathic localization-related epilepsy for 10%. Between 0.5 and 1% of children experience a nonrecurrent, single, unprovoked convulsive episode. Following are the estimated numbers of children and adolescents with newly diagnosed convulsive disorders in the United States for the year 1990: febrile seizures, 100,000; neonatal seizures, 4,000; other provoked seizures, 6,000; single unprovoked seizures, 10,000; and epilepsy, 30,000.