A prospective incidence study of epilepsy in a rural community of West-Bengal, India

ABSTRACT

Epilepsy is a major health problem in India, but community based incidence study is rare. This study was undertaken to determine the incidence rate in a rural community of the state of West Bengal, India. The study was done through house to house survey by a dedicated team of neurologists, who carried out the survey cum case detection over 5 years. A total of 38 cases were detected during the survey period in a population of 20,966. The age adjusted (to World Standard Population) average annual incidence rate was 42.08 per 100,000 persons per year (95% confidence interval, 29.75-57.86). This rate was higher than many developed countries, but lower than the developing countries. Cerebral infection was the most common putative factor observed. An increasing trend of incidence of epilepsy has been observed over the years during the period of the study.