The Family Resource Network Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey

Epilepsy Statistics

  • About 2.7 million Americans have Epilepsy.
  • One in one hundred people will develop Epilepsy.
  • One in ten people will have a seizure in their lifetime.
  • Epilepsy is more common than Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease combined.
  • This year another 200,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with epilepsy.
  • Epilepsy is prevalent among those with other disabilities, such as autism (25.5 percent), cerebral palsy (13 percent), Down’s syndrome (13.6 percent), and mental retardation (25.5 percent)—while 40 percent of people who have both cerebral palsy and mental retardation also have epilepsy.[i]
  • The association between epilepsy and depression is especially strong. More than one of every three persons with epilepsy are also affected by the mood disorder, and people with a history of depression are 3 to 7 times more likely to develop epilepsy than the average person.[ii]

[i] McDermott S, Moran R. Prevalence of Epilepsy in Adults with Mental Retardation and Related Disabilities in Primary Care. American Journal on Mental Retardatio. January; 2005–Vol. 10, No. 1:48-56.

[ii] Kanner A, Jobe PC, Ettinger A. In presentations given at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Conference, March 9, 2005.