@article{ref1,
title="Epilepsy-related and other causes of mortality in people with epilepsy: a systematic review of systematic reviews",
journal="Epilepsy research",
year="2019",
author="Mbizvo, Gashirai K. and Bennett, Kyle and Simpson, Colin R. and Duncan, Susan E. and Chin, Richard F. M.",
volume="157",
number="",
pages="106192-106192",
abstract="BACKGROUND: This systematic review of epilepsy mortality systematic reviews evaluates comparative risks, causes, and risk factors for all-cause mortality in people with epilepsy (PWE) to specifically establish the burden of epilepsy-related deaths. <br><br>METHODS: MEDLINE and Embase were searched from conception to 26/12/2018 for systematic reviews evaluating all-cause mortality in PWE of any age. Independent study selection, data extraction and quality assessment were performed. Deaths were separated into epilepsy-related and unrelated using a recently published classification system. Outcomes included standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and mortality rate (MR) in a primary analysis of comparative risks, causes, and risk factors for all-cause and epilepsy-related mortality. A narrative synthesis of review findings was used to present results, including from a secondary analysis of individual epilepsy-related death risk factors. <br><br>RESULTS: Six moderate or high-quality systematic reviews were included in the primary analysis, evaluating 103 observational studies. All-cause mortality remained similarly high between 1950 and present (median SMR range 2.2-3.4). Africa had the highest SMR (median 5.4, range 2.6-7.2). SMRs were also higher for children <18 years (median 7.5, range 3.1-22.4) than adults (median 2.6, range 1.3-8.7), and for epilepsy-related (median 3.8, range 0.0-82.4,) than unrelated causes (median 1.7, range 0.7-17.6). Structural brain disease conferred the greatest risk for all-cause mortality (SMR range 24.0-41.5). Common epilepsy-related causes included alcohol, drowning, pneumonia, and suicide. In secondary analysis of nine additional systematic reviews, epilepsy-related death risk factors were reported for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), drowning and suicide. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Premature all-cause mortality remains a major problem in PWE globally, particularly in children and young adults, with most being epilepsy-related and potentially preventable. SUDEP is only one of several other common and important epilepsy-related causes of death.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0920-1211",
doi="10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2019.106192",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2019.106192"
}