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Epilepsy Statistics

• About 2.7 million Americans have Epilepsy.
• One in 26 people will develop Epilepsy in their lifetime.
• 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.
• 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.}