Causes of Epilepsy in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the March 2013 issue of the Lancet Neurology, Doctors Ngugi and a large group of international investigators examine how often active convulsive epilepsy occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and its causes.

• Five hundred eighty-six thousand, six hundred seven (586,607) individuals were screened by a three step process, of which 1,711 individuals were diagnosed as having active convulsive epilepsy.

• In children under the age of 18, epilepsy was associated with issues related to maternal health and prenatal care:

  • difficulty feeding, crying or breathing after birth-- odds ratio of 10.23
  • abnormal periods after birth-- odds ratio 2.14
  • head injury-- odds ratio 1.97.

• In adults, epilepsy was associated with infectious diseases:

  • malaria or fever-- odds ratio 2.28
  • exposure to Toxocara canis-- odds ratio 1.74
  • exposure to Toxoplasma gondii--odds ratio 1.39
  • exposure to Ochocerca volvulus--odds ratio 2.23;
  • hypertension-- odds ratio 2.13;
  • exposure to Taenia solium--odds ratio 7.03.