Investigation of prevalence, clinical characteristics and management of epilepsy in Yueyang city of China by a door-to-door survey.

Summary Background The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence rate, types and causes of epilepsy, and information on treatment gap of epilepsy in Yueyang city, and to evaluate the diagnosis and treatment status of these patients. Methods A door-to-door epidemiological survey on epilepsy was conducted by random cluster sampling among the urban and rural populations of Yueyang city, Hunan province, China. The screening questionnaire for epilepsy used in this study was adapted from the WHO and ICBERG standard screening questionnaires. All peoples diagnosed with epilepsy or suspected to be epileptic during screening were rechecked by neurologists. Clinical and treatment data were collected from patients with definitive diagnosis. Results A total of 32059 peoples were screened. 143 peoples were diagnosed with epilepsy. Lifetime prevalence rate was 4.5‰ and 1-year active prevalence rate was 2.8‰. Prevalence rates were higher in male and rural areas. Secondary generalized tonic–clonic seizure prevailed over other seizure types in frequency. 93.4% of the patients with active epilepsy had treatment gaps without receiving standard and regular antiepileptic drugs before the survey. Conclusions The prevalence rate of epilepsy in Yueyang is lower than in other areas of China and Asia. The large amount of patients with treatment gaps indicates an urgent need for a rational intervention strategy.