Epilepsy in the elderly. Prevalence and etiology in the urban population of the municipality of Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Rio province, Cuba

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Epilepsy is a non-transmissible chronic disease affecting 0.5-1% of the general population. Epilepsy is the third neurological disease most common in the elderly, only surpassed by cerebrovascular disease and dementia. Recent reports suggest an increase in the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in the elderly.

OBJECTIVES: To know the prevalence and clinical-etiologic behavior of epilepsy in the elderly, in the urban population of the municipality Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Rio province.

METHODS: The Consolación del Sur municipality has an urban population of 87.419 inhabitants, 14.30 % of the population is over 60 years old. A prospective, descriptive study, and localization of cases with epilepsy in the elderly, in the urban population of Consolación del Sur from 1 January 2015 - January 1, 2016 was carried out. A structured form of information registry which included these data: demographic, clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic. The final data were stored in a database for further statistical processing.

RESULTS: The prevalence of epilepsy in the elderly was 16.9 cases x 1000 inhabitants, limits of age 61-102 years, average age 75.6 years, with predominance in males. Epilepsy was more frequent in the group of 70-80 years of age. Complex focal seizures with or without secondary generalization predominated (52.3 %). The main causes of symptomatic epilepsy were: cerebrovascular disease (42.5 %), degenerative diseases (14.7 %), and brain tumors (4.3 %).

CONCLUSIONS: Epilepsy in the elderly represents a health problem growing, of large epidemiological importance by the progressive aging of the Cuban population. Age and cerebrovascular disease are the main factors of risk of epileptic seizures in the elderly.