Young people with epilepsy significantly more at risk of injury

Children and young adults with epilepsy are more likely to suffer broken bones, burns and poisonings compared to those without the neurological disorder, new research has found.

The study, led by academics at The University of Nottingham and funded by the National Institute for Health Research, shows that young people with the condition are at significantly greater risk of being poisoned by medication, leading the authors to call for further research into whether these poisonings are intentional.

The results, taken in tandem with previous research findings, highlight the need for further research into whether young people with the condition are at greater risk from an overdose, accidental or intentional, of their epilepsy drugs or other medication. And the researchers say that doctors and other healthcare professionals should use the results of the study to help warn epilepsy patients of the increased risk associated with their illness.

The study, published in the latest edition of the journal Pediatrics, found that young people with epilepsy were more than twice as likely to be poisoned by medication. This jumped to four times the risk in patients aged between 19 and 24 years old.

The patients, all aged between 12 months and 24 years old at the time of their diagnosis, were also almost one and a half times more likely to suffer a burn-related injury and almost 25 per cnet more at risk of breaking an arm or leg.

Dr Vibhore Prasad, of the University's Division of Primary Care, said: "More research is needed to understand why people with epilepsy have a greater number of medicine-related poisonings and whether the poisonings are intentional or accidental. This is the first study in the UK population to estimate the risk of fractures, burns and poisonings. The risk of a poisoning in the next five years for 1,000 people with epilepsy is about 20 extra poisonings compared to people who do not have epilepsy."

Epilepsy is a chronic condition caused by a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain, causing a temporary interruption in the way the brain normally works and resulting in a seizure. In the UK alone there are more than 600,000 people with epilepsy.

Previous studies into the condition have suggested that these seizures - and the side effects caused by some anti-epilepsy drugs — put patients at a greater risk of accidental injuries.

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is the tendency to have seizures that start in the brain. The brain uses electrical signals to pass messages between brain cells. If these signals are disrupted, this can lead to a seizure.

Epilepsy is usually diagnosed when someone has more than one seizure. Seizures can vary a lot. They can affect your feelings, awareness or movement. Different types of seizures involve different things. These may include confusion, strange feelings, repetitive movements, 'blank' moments (where you are briefly unconscious), muscle jerks, sudden falls, or convulsions (jerking movements while unconscious).