Future directions for epidemiology in epilepsy

Epidemiology continues to be an important research tool in the study of epilepsy and related disorders, providing a better understanding of the frequency, causes and natural history of the disorder. But, beyond risk factors and seizure prognosis, epidemiological studies advance knowledge of many other aspects of epilepsy. Epidemiological studies are being conducted in a new environment in which high quality neuroimaging and fast through-put genomic technologies have become routine tools in clinical diagnosis and therapeutics. Epilepsy is currently understood, not as a single, homogeneous disorder, but a multitude of different clinical syndromes and disease, each with its own cause(s), natural history, and treatment implications. That is why; the comorbidites of epilepsy represent an important area, amenable to study, as they may ultimately have a greater impact on quality of life than epilepsy itself. In this document we share our thoughts on what we think are the future directions for epidemiology in epilepsy.

► Epidemiology continues to be an important research tool in the study of epilepsy and related disorders.
► Beyond risk factors and seizure prognosis, epidemiological studies advance knowledge of many other aspects of epilepsy.
► Challenges that can be addressed epidemiologically include identification of health care priorities in different populations.
► The comorbidities of epilepsy represent an important area amenable to epidemiological study.