OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and distribution of seizure in children under five, living in a deprived community. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted in a probabilistic sample of 487 children aged 5 or less, resident in the rural and urban areas of São José do Norte, a poor municipality in southern Brazil, during the period 1998-99. Children were identified as having this disorder after the application of the three subsequent instruments, the screening questionnaire for epileptic seizures (SQES), the neurological diagnostic interview for epilepsy (NDIE) and the EEG. Statistical analysis included a multivariate analysis using Poisson regression. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Diagnosis of epileptic seizures was confirmed in 22 children. Prevalence of seizure was 45.2/1000 (CI 2.9-6.8). Absence of tap water (PR 2.86; IC 1.15-7.10), and precarious housing (PR 2.50; CI 1.01-6.18) were significantly associated with the outcome. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of seizure in this deprived population is extremely high and related to socio-economic conditions.
epilepsy; socioeconomic factors; children; epidemiology
