International League Against Epilepsy, and the World Health Organization

Summary: In North America, overall epilepsy incidence is ap-proximately 50/100,000 per year, highest for children below five years of age, and the elderly. The best data suggest prevalence of 5–10/1000. Potential effects of gender, ethnicity, access to care and socioeconomic variables need further study. Studies of epilepsy etiology and classification mainly were performed without modern imaging tools. The best study found an overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for epilepsy relative to the general population of 2.3. There is evidence to suggest a greater increase in patients with symptomatic epilepsy, particularly chil-dren. People with epilepsy are more likely to report reduced Health-related Quality of Life than controls. They have reduced income, and are less likely to have full-time employment. They suffer from persistent stigma throughout the region, in developed as well as developing countries. Poor treatment access and healt