Epilepsy - Death

Death

Beyond symptoms of the underlying diseases that can be a part of certain epilepsies, people with epilepsy are at risk for death from four main problems: status epilepticus (most often associated with anticonvulsant noncompliance), suicide associated with depression, trauma from seizures, and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) Those at highest risk for epilepsy-related deaths usually have underlying neurological impairment or poorly controlled seizures; generally those with more benign epilepsy syndromes a lower risk for epilepsy-related death.

The NICE National Sentinel Audit of Epilepsy-Related Deaths, led by "Epilepsy Bereaved" drew attention to this important problem. The Audit revealed; "1,000 deaths occur every year in the UK as a result of epilepsy" and most of them are associated with seizures and 42% of deaths were potentially avoidable".

Certain disorders also seem to occur in higher than expected rates in people with epilepsy, and the risk of these "comorbidities" often varies with the epilepsy syndrome. These disorders include depression and anxiety disorders, migraine and other headaches, infertility and low sexual libido. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects three to five times more children with epilepsy than children in the general population. ADHD and epilepsy have significant consequences on a child's behavioral, learning, and social development. Epilepsy is prevalent in autism.