Prevalence of epilepsy in Croatia: A population-based survey

Objectives - To investigate the prevalence of active epilepsy in Croatia. Material and methods - Patient data collected by means of questionnaires completed by primary healthcare physicians; epilepsy was previously confirmed in the patients by neurologists or neuropaediatricans. Results - One hundred and twenty-seven of 180 (71%) physicians provided the requested information. The total sample was 212 069 people and of these 1022 had active epilepsy. Prevalence rates (per 1000) for the following age-groups were: age 0-7: 3.5; age 8-18: 6.4; age 19-45: 5.0; age 46-65: 4.7; age > 65: 4.4. The age-adjusted prevalence rates for the standard populations were 4.9/1000 (European population) and 5.0/1000 (WHO world population). Fifty-one physicians (29%) stated only the number of patients they considered as having active epilepsy but without the requested details. If their patients were also included, the estimated crude prevalence rate would be 5.5/1000. Conclusions - It is likely that the prevalence of active epilepsy in Croatia is between 4.8 and 5.5/1000; this is in keeping with findings from other European countries.