Impact of Socio Economic Status and Cultural Factors on the Prevalence of Epilepsy: Study in Kashmir

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The social and economic problems cuased byepilepsy are offen under appricaiated. The message shouldreach the broadest population of effected individuals, many ofwhom are in low socio economic groups and are at higher riskfor development of epilepsy. Study aimed to asess the impactof socio economic status and cultural factors on the prevalenceof Epilepsy in school going Children (6-16 years) in Kashmir.Material and methods: This was a population based studyconducted in school children. The selection of school wasdone by using PPS Method (Proportionate to PopulationSize) used in cluster surveys. The Pretexed Questionnairewas administered to 60 randomly selected children from eachselected school, the positive responders were examined by theneurologist and psychologistResults: The crude Prevelance of epilepsy in school goingchildren was 3.8/1000 for males which was higher thanfemales 2.77. The Govt schools had higher prevalence3.81/1000 as compared to private schools 2.79/1000 reflectinghigher prevalence in economically weaker section. Childrenfrom lower middle class had highest prevalence 3.56/1000.Conclusion: The prevelance of Epilepsy seems to increasewith socio economic deprivation though the association maybe compounded by other factors. The over all prevelance wascomparable to other studies. However there is significantimprovement about the awareness of epilepsy in Kashmirvalley over the past decades.