Prevalence of epilepsy in Bangladesh: Results from a national household survey

Objective To determine the prevalence and types of epilepsy in Bangladesh. Methods We conducted a nationwide population‐based cross‐sectional survey among Bangladeshi population of all ages, except children under one month. We surveyed 9839 participants (urban, 4918; rural, 4920) recruited at their households using multistage cluster sampling. Trained physicians with neurology background confirmed the diagnosis of suspected epilepsy cases identified by interviewer‐administered questionnaires. We reported the overall and sex, residence, and age groups‐specific prevalence of epilepsy per 1000 populations with 95% confidence interval. Results The national prevalence of epilepsy per 1000 was 8.4 (95% CI 5.6‐11.1), urban 8.0 (4.6‐11.4), and rural 8.5 (5.60‐11.5). The prevalence in adult males and females was 9.2 (5.7‐12.6) and 7.7 (3.6‐11.7), respectively. The prevalence in children aged