Prevalence of epilepsy in 3637 children of primary school age in the province of Malatya Turkey [letter]

The epidemiological study conducted in Malatya Turkey sought to find out the prevalence of epilepsy in 3637 primary school age children. Carried out in two phases the first was a cross-sectional phase which identified 118 children with suspected epilepsy events. The 2nd phase was a re-evaluation of these children which confirmed that 29 of the 118 children are cases of epilepsy. Of the total epileptic group 41.4% had their first seizure between the ages of 1 month and 1 year 37.9% between 2 and 5 years of age and 20.7% between 6 and 12 years of age. The probable causes of epilepsy were identified as perinatal injury in 7 children meningitis in 2 and head trauma in 1. The cumulative incidence of epilepsy in this study was 0.797% which are in accord with the results of developed countries and are also similar to those of other studies performed in rural or urban areas of Turkey. Delay of early identification and treatment of seizures caused by socioeconomic problems and lack of knowledge need to addressed.