Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study
Background Epilepsy and neurocysticercosis (NCC) prevalence estimates in sub-Saharan Africa are still scarce but show important variation due to the population studied and different screening and diagnosis strategies used. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of epileptic seizures...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7e11d5f366dc4ca68d8f7a43bf95408a 2023-05-15T15:18:34+02:00 Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study Luise Keller Dominik Stelzle Veronika Schmidt Hélène Carabin Ann-Kristin Reinhold Claudius Keller Tamara M. Welte Vivien Richter Action Amos Lindsay Boeckman Wendy Harrison Andrea S. Winkler 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doaj.org/article/7e11d5f366dc4ca68d8f7a43bf95408a EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9477368/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 https://doaj.org/article/7e11d5f366dc4ca68d8f7a43bf95408a PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 9 (2022) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2022 ftdoajarticles 2022-12-30T20:35:06Z Background Epilepsy and neurocysticercosis (NCC) prevalence estimates in sub-Saharan Africa are still scarce but show important variation due to the population studied and different screening and diagnosis strategies used. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of epileptic seizures and epilepsy in the sampled population, and the proportion of NCC among people with epilepsy (PWE) in a large cross-sectional study in a rural district of southern Malawi. Methods We conducted a community-based door-to-door screening study for epileptic seizures in Balaka, Malawi between October and December 2012. Past epileptic seizures were reported through a 15-item questionnaire answered by at least one person per household generating five major criteria. People who screened positive were further examined by a neurologist to establish diagnosis. Patients diagnosed with epilepsy were examined and offered Taenia solium cyst antigen and antibody serological tests, and a CT scan for the diagnosis of NCC. Results In total, screening information on 69,595 individuals was obtained for lifetime occurrence of epileptic seizures. 3,100 (4.5%) participants screened positive, of whom 1,913 (62%) could be followed-up and underwent further assessment. Lifetime prevalence was 3.0% (95% Bayesian credible interval [CI] 2.8 to 3.1%) and 1.2% (95I 0.9 to 1.6%) for epileptic seizures and epilepsy, respectively. NCC prevalence among PWE was estimated to be 4.4% (95I 0.8 to 8.5%). A diagnosis of epilepsy was ultimately reached for 455 participants. Conclusion The results of this large community-based study contribute to the evaluation and understanding of the burden of epilepsy in the population and of NCC among PWE in sub-Saharan Africa. Author summary Epilepsy is more common in low-income and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. One of the reasons for this is that risk factors for acquired epilepsy such as Taenia solium cysticercosis are more common in these countries. In this study we conducted a screening for ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Luise Keller Dominik Stelzle Veronika Schmidt Hélène Carabin Ann-Kristin Reinhold Claudius Keller Tamara M. Welte Vivien Richter Action Amos Lindsay Boeckman Wendy Harrison Andrea S. Winkler Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background Epilepsy and neurocysticercosis (NCC) prevalence estimates in sub-Saharan Africa are still scarce but show important variation due to the population studied and different screening and diagnosis strategies used. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of epileptic seizures and epilepsy in the sampled population, and the proportion of NCC among people with epilepsy (PWE) in a large cross-sectional study in a rural district of southern Malawi. Methods We conducted a community-based door-to-door screening study for epileptic seizures in Balaka, Malawi between October and December 2012. Past epileptic seizures were reported through a 15-item questionnaire answered by at least one person per household generating five major criteria. People who screened positive were further examined by a neurologist to establish diagnosis. Patients diagnosed with epilepsy were examined and offered Taenia solium cyst antigen and antibody serological tests, and a CT scan for the diagnosis of NCC. Results In total, screening information on 69,595 individuals was obtained for lifetime occurrence of epileptic seizures. 3,100 (4.5%) participants screened positive, of whom 1,913 (62%) could be followed-up and underwent further assessment. Lifetime prevalence was 3.0% (95% Bayesian credible interval [CI] 2.8 to 3.1%) and 1.2% (95I 0.9 to 1.6%) for epileptic seizures and epilepsy, respectively. NCC prevalence among PWE was estimated to be 4.4% (95I 0.8 to 8.5%). A diagnosis of epilepsy was ultimately reached for 455 participants. Conclusion The results of this large community-based study contribute to the evaluation and understanding of the burden of epilepsy in the population and of NCC among PWE in sub-Saharan Africa. Author summary Epilepsy is more common in low-income and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. One of the reasons for this is that risk factors for acquired epilepsy such as Taenia solium cysticercosis are more common in these countries. In this study we conducted a screening for ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Luise Keller Dominik Stelzle Veronika Schmidt Hélène Carabin Ann-Kristin Reinhold Claudius Keller Tamara M. Welte Vivien Richter Action Amos Lindsay Boeckman Wendy Harrison Andrea S. Winkler |
author_facet |
Luise Keller Dominik Stelzle Veronika Schmidt Hélène Carabin Ann-Kristin Reinhold Claudius Keller Tamara M. Welte Vivien Richter Action Amos Lindsay Boeckman Wendy Harrison Andrea S. Winkler |
author_sort |
Luise Keller |
title |
Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study |
title_short |
Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study |
title_full |
Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study |
title_fullStr |
Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the Balaka district of Malawi: A cross-sectional study |
title_sort |
community-level prevalence of epilepsy and of neurocysticercosis among people with epilepsy in the balaka district of malawi: a cross-sectional study |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/7e11d5f366dc4ca68d8f7a43bf95408a |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 9 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9477368/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 https://doaj.org/article/7e11d5f366dc4ca68d8f7a43bf95408a |
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1766348757504360448 |