John Elflein
Research expert covering health and health care
Epilepsy in the U.S. - Statistics & Facts
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. Seizures among epileptics can vary in frequency and seriousness and can last a few seconds or a few minutes. Some of the most common seizure triggers among epileptics include bright flashing lights, stress, lack of sleep, illness or fever, and alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs. In most cases, the cause of epilepsy is unknown, but the disorder can result from stroke, brain injury, brain tumors, and serious illness or very high fever. Worldwide it is estimated that around 1.6 percent of males and 1.3 percent of females have idiopathic, or generalized, epilepsy. Central Latin America is the region with the highest incidence rate of idiopathic epilepsy worldwide with around 57 cases per 100,000 population. In comparison, the incidence rate of epilepsy in high-income North America is around 39 per 100,000 population.
How prevalent is epilepsy in the United States?
Epilepsy is a common disorder in the United States with approximately 1.1 percent of the adult population living with active epilepsy. Epilepsy in the United States occurs almost equally among men and women, and is slightly more common among non-Hispanic Black adults than adults of other races and ethnicities. Although the onset of epilepsy can occur at any age, it most often begins in childhood. In 2022, it was estimated that around .6 percent of boys and .7 percent of girls aged 0 to 17 years in the United States currently had epilepsy. Medications can often help adults and children with epilepsy become seizure free and many children can eventually stop taking medication all together and no longer experience seizures. However, a study published in 2023 found that children with active epilepsy are much more likely to have visited an emergency department than children without epilepsy. Perhaps even more troubling though is that the study found children with active epilepsy were over twice as likely to have not received healthcare they needed, with almost eight percent reporting not receiving needed healthcare over the studied period.Deaths caused by epilepsy
Having a seizure can result in injury due to falling, drowning, or car accidents, but perhaps the most common cause of death from epilepsy is from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). SUDEP is still poorly understood, but is assumed to be associated with respiratory, cardiac, and cerebral factors. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, SUDEP is the leading cause of death among people with uncontrolled seizures and causes around one death per 1,000 people with epilepsy every year. In 2020, there were 2,057 deaths in the United States with epilepsy as the underlying cause. Rates of death from epilepsy are higher for older people, with 1.5 deaths per 100,000 population among those aged 85 years and older, compared to an average rate of around 0.6 among those aged 15 to 24 years.
