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Two studies reported an increased risk of epilepsy following a diagnosis of probable or definite Alzheimer's disease (AD). [1-2] Neither study was population-based, neither evaluated whether the increased risk is the same for generalized-onset and partial-onset seizures, and neither considered dementia other than AD. We conducted a population-based casecontrol study among older residents of Rochester, Minnesota, to study the relationship between AD and other types of dementia and incident unprovoked seizures.
Methods.
General design.
Previous studies in Rochester, Minnesota, have assessed the incidence of seizure disorders from 1935 to 1984. [3-4] Our case group was restricted to the subjects who developed unprovoked seizures between 1955 and 1984, when identification of people with seizures was considered most complete. The control group was selected from Rochester, Minnesota, residents of the same sex and age as cases at the time when the case's incident unprovoked seizure came to medical attention (the index date). For all study subjects, we collected information on medical events preceding the index date using the medical records-linkage system. This system connects outpatient and inpatient records for all Rochester residents seen at the Mayo Clinic and its affiliated hospitals, the Olmsted Medical Group (OMG), the Olmsted Community Hospital (OCH), a few private practitioners, as well as all hospitals and nursing homes in the Rochester area, including the Rochester State Hospital, and in Minneapolis, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Minnesota Hospitals. Thus, data are available from almost all health care records of Rochester residents.
Cases.
We studied Rochester, Minnesota, residents aged at least 55 years when they came to medical attention because of incident unprovoked seizure between 1955 and 1984 (30 years). Cases were excluded if their unprovoked seizure was preceded by established risk factors for epilepsy (clinically detected vascular insults to the brain, CNS infection, brain trauma of …
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