Epilepsy prevalence may be twice as high in LGBTQ+ communities, says a new US study in JAMA Neurology.
In a Brief Report published in July, study authors Dr Emily Johnson and colleagues wanted to estimate the prevalence of active epilepsy in people of “sexual and gender minoritised (SGM) groups” in the US.
The researchers used the 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to identify minority groups based on sexual orientation and gender-diverse identity.
The research looked at epilepsy status, medical treatment and seizure frequency.
In a total population of 27,624 people who answered the NHIS survey, 1.2% had active epilepsy.
Adults in SGM groups had more than twice the rate of epilepsy (2.4%) than adults who were not in these groups (1.1%).
This was the case even when the researchers accounted for other factors that could be affecting the prevalence of epilepsy, such as age, race, ethnicity, income and education.
The researchers concluded that the results show a “disproportionate prevalence of epilepsy” in these groups in the US. They said that the reasons are likely to be complex and unique to this group and more research is needed.
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