Prevalencia de epilepsia en Medellin, Colombia, 1983 / Prevalence of epilepsy in Medellin, Colombia, 1982

RESUMO

In 1983 a study was done on the prevalence of epilepsy and some of its associated risk factors using a randon representative sample stratified by economic level. The research was carried our in two stages. The first stage consisted of a survey, conducted in July of that year, during which 4 549 persons responded to a questionnaire containing a series of questions on the signs and symptoms of epilepsy and its associated risk factors. Based on the responses and a set of conventional criteria, 441 individuals were identified as suspected epileptics. In the second stage, diagnosis of the disorder was confirmed in 77 of them: in 21 (27.3 percent), through the clinical record or the report of the attending physician, and in 56 (72.7 percent), through the neurological examination that was done as part of the study. Ninety-two persons (20.9 percent) did not report for the examination. A systematic description was drawn up of the clinical characteristics of epilepsy that were identified in the 56 individuals who underwent the neurological examination. Since the probability of confirming the diagnosis was considered to be the same for the persons who reported for the examination and for those who did not, the calculation of prevalence was designed to compensate for the latter