Comparison of clinical characteristics of epilepsy in two age groups of 20-60 and more than 60 years old among the patients referred to Isfahan city, Iran, epilepsy clinics during 2014-2015

Abstract

Background: We aimed to compare different clinical characteristics of epilepsy among two age groups of 20-60 and more than 60 years old. Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted during 2014-2015 in epilepsy clinics located in Isfahan city, Iran. The inclusion criteria were defined as definitive diagnosis of epilepsy, age of older than 20 years, and having medical record in Isfahan epilepsy clinics. Patients with incomplete medical records were excluded. Patients’ medical records were reviewed for seizure characteristics, demographic and paraclinical data; these findings were compared between the two age-groups. 200 patients were included in the study and 23 of them were excluded because of incomplete medical records. Findings: 120 cases (67.8) were under 60 years old and 81 cases (45.8) were men. The most frequent seizure type in younger and older age-group was generalized tonic-colonic (35.0) and mixed seizures (29.8), respectively. Abnormal brain magnetic resounance imaging (MRI) (66.7 versus 37 and P < 0.001), computed tomography (CT) scan (59.6 versus 30.9 and P < 0.001) and laboratory data (22.8 versus 8.5 and P = 0.009) were more frequent in older age-group. Family history of seizure was seen more in younger age-group (51.7 versus 29.8, P = 0.006). Conclusion: We found that elderly patients presented more with complex partial and mixed seizures while the younger population presented more with generalized seizures. Abnormal findings in brain CT scan and MRI were seen more in older patients and younger patients were more likely to have family history of epilepsy. © 2017, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.