Editors' Note: Burden of Chronic and Acute Conditions and Symptoms in People With Epilepsy

Abstract

Dr. Bensken et al. examined the burden and racial/ethnic disparities of chronic and acute conditions, injuries, and symptoms in 81,963 patients with epilepsy using 5 years of Medicaid claims data. The most common conditions were anxiety and mood disorders, hypertension, back problems, developmental disorders, and headache. Indigenous groups had a substantially higher prevalence of developmental disorders, whereas Black patients had a higher prevalence of hypertension. Those with high healthcare utilization had higher disease burden. In response, Dr. Garg suggests that sleep is another important symptom to consider in people with epilepsy, given that studies have indicated a reciprocal relationship between sleep and epilepsy. Responding to this comment, the authors note that sleep quality may also affect conditions such as anxiety and mood disorders that were examined in their study. However, they note that administrative health data do not capture sleep-related symptoms well. This exchange highlights the protean effects of epilepsy on patients' lives and the challenges of fully capturing the burden of this disease in claims data. Dr. Bensken et al. examined the burden and racial/ethnic disparities of chronic and acute conditions, injuries, and symptoms in 81,963 patients with epilepsy using 5 years of Medicaid claims data. The most common conditions were anxiety and mood disorders, hypertension, back problems, developmental disorders, and headache. Indigenous groups had a substantially higher prevalence of developmental disorders, whereas Black patients had a higher prevalence of hypertension. Those with high healthcare utilization had higher disease burden. In response, Dr. Garg suggests that sleep is another important symptom to consider in people with epilepsy, given that studies have indicated a reciprocal relationship between sleep and epilepsy. Responding to this comment, the authors note that sleep quality may also affect conditions such as anxiety and mood disorders that were examined in their study. However, they note that administrative health data do not capture sleep-related symptoms well. This exchange highlights the protean effects of epilepsy on patients' lives and the challenges of fully capturing the burden of this disease in claims data.