People who develop epilepsy after a traumatic brain injury run almost double the risk of a premature death compared to those who suffered a similar brain injury without developing epilepsy. This has been shown in a new thesis from the University of Gothenburg.
The thesis encompasses all patients admitted to hospital with a traumatic brain injury in Sweden between 2000 and 2010. The data span a total of over 110,000 patients, of which 4,292 developed epilepsy after their brain injury. The patients were followed until 2017.
The results show that the risk of developing epilepsy is highest in the first year after the injury and increases with the severity of that injury.
In the study, the risk of dying during the follow-up period was 1.8 times higher in people who developed epilepsy after a brain injury compared to those who did not - even when taking injury severity into account.
The thesis is written by Markus Karlander, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg and a neurologist at Södra Älvsborg Hospital in Borås:
"We see a clear difference in survival between those who do and do not develop epilepsy after a brain injury. This suggests that the epilepsy itself could be a contributing factor," he says.
Improved quality of life
About four percent of people who sustain a traumatic brain injury develop epilepsy within ten years, and in most cases within the first year of the injury. Although this is a small segment of the population, detecting the condition is important as it impacts both quality of life and survival.
"It's important that neurology departments follow up people who have had epileptic seizures after a traumatic brain injury to ensure that the right diagnosis can be made in time and appropriate treatment can begin," Markus Karlander explains.
The thesis also includes results from a regional epilepsy study showing that people who develop epilepsy after a brain injury more often lack higher education and are unemployed as compared to other people with epilepsy. This form of epilepsy does not, however, seem more difficult to treat.
The results of the thesis can contribute to more reliable diagnoses, improved care and clearer prognoses for people at risk of developing epilepsy after a brain injury.
Thesis: Post-traumatic epilepsy: Risk factors, Clinical insights, Socioeconomic aspects and prognosis
