Study Finds Epilepsy Cases Rising Across U.S.

By Heather van Blokland
Published: Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 2:47pm

The CDC has released new estimates of epilepsy cases nationwide. One million more people have now been diagnosed with the disease.

The study, released last week, said 77,000 people in Arizona have epilepsy. This is the first time state-level data was gathered, according to Dr. Amy Crepeau of the Mayo Clinic, who also said the numbers are rising nationwide.

“Epilepsy is actually incredibly common within the population. So, even though some people may feel they don’t want to admit to having it or are concerned about stigma, it’s quite common,” Crepeau said.

The study said 3.4 million people nationwide now self-report as epileptic, up from 2.3 million in 2010. Crepeau said epilepsy is often considered a childhood disease, but actually is more often found in adults over age 65.

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