Epilepsy and Neurocysticercosis in Latin America: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Elisa Bruno, Alessandro Bartoloni, Lorenzo Zammarchi, Marianne Strohmeyer, Filippo Bartalesi, Javier A Bustos, Saul Santivañez, Héctor H García, Alessandra Nicoletti and the COHEMI Project Study Group

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2013, vol. 7, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: Background: The difference in epilepsy burden existing among populations in tropical regions has been attributed to many factors, including the distribution of infectious diseases with neurologic sequels. To define the burden of epilepsy in Latin American Countries (LAC) and to investigate the strength of association with neurocysticercosis (NCC), considered one of the leading causes of epilepsy, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. Methodology: Studies published until 2012 were selected applying predefined inclusion criteria. Lifetime epilepsy (LTE) prevalence, active epilepsy (AE) prevalence, incidence, mortality, treatment gap (TG) and NCC proportion among people with epilepsy (PWE) were extracted. Median values were obtained for each estimate using random effects meta-analysis. The impact of NCC prevalence on epilepsy estimates was determined using meta-regression models. To assess the association between NCC and epilepsy, a further meta-analysis was performed on case-control studies. Principal findings: The median LTE prevalence was 15.8/1,000 (95% CI 13.5–18.3), the median AE prevalence was 10.7/1,000 (95% CI 8.4–13.2), the median incidence was 138.2/100,000 (95% CI 83.6–206.4), the overall standardized mortality ratio was 1.4 (95% CI 0.01–6.1) and the overall estimated TG was 60.6% (95% CI 45.3–74.9). The median NCC proportion among PWE was 32.3% (95% CI 26.0–39.0). Higher TG and NCC estimates were associated with higher epilepsy prevalence. The association between NCC and epilepsy was significant (p

Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pntd00:0002480

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002480

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