Epilepsy
Mortality

People with epilepsy may have a higher risk of premature death compared to those without the condition. This risk is estimated to be between 1.6 and 4.1 times greater than that of the general population. The greatest increase in mortality from epilepsy is among the elderly. Those with epilepsy due to an unknown cause have a relatively low increase in risk.

Mortality is often related to the underlying cause of the seizures, status epilepticus, suicide, trauma, and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Death from status epilepticus is primarily due to an underlying problem rather than missing doses of medications. The risk of suicide is between two and six times higher in those with epilepsy; the cause of this is unclear. SUDEP appears to be partly related to the frequency of generalized tonic-clonic seizures and accounts for about 15% of epilepsy-related deaths; it is unclear how to decrease its risk. Risk factors for SUDEP include nocturnal generalized tonic-clonic seizures, seizures, sleeping alone and medically intractable epilepsy.

In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that 40–60% of deaths are possibly preventable. In the developing world, many deaths are due to untreated epilepsy leading to falls or status epilepticus.
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