January 17, 2023

UK Epilepsy Prevalence and Incidence Update

Article published by Epilepsy Action

A new update on the number of new cases of epilepsy and the number of people with epilepsy in the UK has found differences between the nations.

The new UK study by Wigglesworth and colleagues aimed to provide an update on the incidence of epilepsy (the number of new cases) and the prevalence (the number of people with epilepsy) in the UK between 2013-2018.

The researchers used electronic health records of around 14 million people, representing around one fifth (20%) of the UK population.

The study found that overall in the UK, just over nine people would have epilepsy in every 1,000 people each year. This means that an estimated 633,000 people are living with epilepsy in the UK.

When looking individually at England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the team found there were slight differences.

In England, this drops to just under nine people in every 1,000 having epilepsy a year. In Scotland, this was just over 10 people, in Wales it was over 11 people and in Northern Ireland it was over 12 people.

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