Assessment of the Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Pre-Covid Epileptic Patients Managed at Clinic of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi

Abstract

Epilepsy is a neuronal disorder affecting more than 50 million people in the world (about 1% of the world’s population) with 5-10 cases in  1000 persons. It is characterized by an abnormal firing of neurones and neuronal networks, leading to dramatic symptoms of seizures.  There has been an increase in the number of cases of epilepsy in the localities from year to year. With the increase in mortality due to lack  of attention, and care coupled with misconceptions and stigma attached to the disease, patients are being left to care for  themselves with no or less support from the government and society. Unfortunately, many lives have been lost due to this neglect. The  need to establish a database on the sociodemographic characteristics of epileptics is necessary. Epileptic patient folders were obtained  from the Medical Records and Statistic Unit of ATBUTH after obtaining ethical clearance from the Health Research and Ethics Committee  of the hospital. The socio-demographic data from the folders were obtained, processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2010. The  total patients were 217, 124 males and 93 females, with 161 dwelling in rural communities and 56 in the cities, while 155 were unemployed, and 62 were gainfully employed. Most of those affected were at the secondary level of education (104) while those at the  primary level were the least (27) and those at the tertiary level were 50. Among the 217, 193 were Muslims and 24 were Christians. The  data showed that most epileptics came from rural communities, with low income, poor conditions of living and more of the male gender. Therefore, there is a need for more awareness, support and care from individuals, organizations and the government to combat the  increase and effects of epilepsy on the population.