A new study shows an increased risk of dementia and frailty for older adults with epilepsy

A new study carried out by researchers at the University of Calgary and the UCL Institute of Health Informatics has shown that older adults with epilepsy are more likely to have dementia and experience some degree of frailty.  Although the prevalence of comorbid epilepsy and dementia is expected to increase, the impact is not well understood.  Researchers used the CALIBER resource which contains linked primary and secondary care data from the Clinical Practice Resource Datalink to study risk factors associated with incident dementia and the impact of frailty and dementia on mortality in older adults with epilepsy.  People with incident epilepsy at or after age 65 were identified using Read codes and matched by age, sex, and general practitioner to a cohort without epilepsy (10:1). The study found that the odds of having dementia were higher in older adults with incident epilepsy, and comorbidity, age, and sleep issues may increase the risk of dementia in older adults with epilepsy. Age, dementia, and frailty were also associated with an increase hazard of death in older adults with epilepsy.  

Read the full paper here