RÉSUMÉ
To assess the association between consanguinity and family history in the risk of developing epilepsy later on in life. A case control study was carried out using data from 234 records comprising cases and controls in the proportion of 1:2. The cases were 76 patients suffering from idiopathic epilepsy, and the controls were 151 diseases patients who were non-epileptics. Data were analyzed using PASW Version 18.0. Chi square test was used to test associations and a binary logistic regression was done to calculate the adjusted odds ratio. The study population comprised 53.7% males and 46.3% females. 48.3% of the cases were of South Asian origin. The most common age group among the cases and the controls was 11-40 years. Both family history and consanguinity had an association with epilepsy. 81% of cases had a positive family history when compared to the 19% in the controls. The odds ratio was 18.37 [CI= 8.37-40.3]. 17% of cases had a positive history of consanguinity compared to the 31% in the controls. The odds ratio was 0.46 [CI= 0.22-0.90]. An adjusted odds ratio was done and the net effect was calculated. It was seen that the adjusted odds ratio for family history was 17.7 [CI=8.04-39] and the adjusted odds ratio for consanguinity was 0.53 [CI=0.23-1.19]. Therefore, family history has a significant association with epilepsy. There was a significant association between family history and risk of developing epilepsy and there seems to be no link between epilepsy and consanguinity. However, most of our patients did have a positive family history