Despite being one of the world’s oldest known medical conditions, public fear and misunderstanding about epilepsy persist, making many people reluctant to talk about it. That reluctance leads to lives lived in the shadows, lack of understanding about individual risk, discrimination in workplaces and communities, and a lack of funding for new therapies research. People with epilepsy die prematurely at a higher rate compared to the general population. The most common cause of death from epilepsy is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP. For many people living with epilepsy, the misconceptions and discrimination can be more difficult to overcome than the seizures themselves.
International Epilepsy Day seeks to raise awareness and educate the general public on the true facts about epilepsy and the urgent need for improved treatment, better care, and greater investment in research.
Facts in Tweet-size Bites
- 65 million people around the world live w/ #epilepsy
- 3.4+ million people in the U.S. live w/ #epilepsy
- 1 in 26 people in the U.S. will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime
- 4 to 10 out of 1,000 people on earth live w/ active #seizures at any one time
- 150,000 new cases of #epilepsy are diagnosed in the U.S. each year
- One-third of people w/ #epilepsy live w/ uncontrolled #seizures because no available treatment works for them
- For 6 out of 10 people w/ #epilepsy the cause is unknown
- Each year, more than 1 in 1,000 people with epilepsy die from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP.
- 4 out of 10 people w/ #epilepsy in the industrialized world do not receive appropriate treatment
- 8 out of 10 people w/ #epilepsy in developing nations do not receive appropriate treatment
International Epilepsy Day is marked in order to recognise that epilepsy is an illness and spread the message that people who suffer from it can be successful.