Lancet neurology
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The burden of comorbidity in people with epilepsy is high. Several diseases, including depression, anxiety, dementia, migraine, heart disease, peptic ulcers, and arthritis are up to eight times more common in people with epilepsy than in the general population. Several mechanisms explain how epilepsy and comorbidities are associated, including shared risk factors and bidirectional relations. ⋯ Preliminary evidence suggests that some conditions, such as depression and migraine, negatively affect seizure outcome and quality of life. Further investigation is needed to explore these relations and the effects of targeted interventions. Future advances in the investigation of the comorbidities of epilepsy will strengthen our understanding of epilepsy and could play an important part in stratification for genetic studies.
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Dementia is receiving increasing attention from governments and politicians. Epidemiological research based on western European populations done 20 years ago provided key initial evidence for dementia policy making, but these estimates are now out of date because of changes in life expectancy, living conditions, and health profiles. To assess whether dementia occurrence has changed during the past 20-30 years, investigators of five different studies done in western Europe (Sweden [Stockholm and Gothenburg], the Netherlands [Rotterdam], the UK [England], and Spain [Zaragoza]) have compared dementia occurrence using consistent research methods between two timepoints in well-defined geographical areas. ⋯ This evidence suggests that attention to optimum health early in life might benefit cognitive health late in life. Policy planning and future research should be balanced across primary (policies reducing risk and increasing cognitive reserve), secondary (early detection and screening), and tertiary (once dementia is present) prevention. Each has their place, but upstream primary prevention has the largest effect on reduction of later dementia occurrence and disability.