Incidence and prevalence of epilepsy in Japan: a retrospective analysis of insurance claims data of 9,864,278 insured persons.

A total of 9,864,278 persons were included. The average age was 34.5 (± SD 18.5) years. A total of 77,312 persons were diagnosed with epilepsy over the 8-year observation period with a prevalence rate of 6.0 per 1,000 with almost no difference by gender. The highest rates were seen among those aged 70-74 years; prevalence rates tended to rise with calendar year (5.4/1,000 in 2012, 6.0/1,000 in 2019). The incidence rate of epilepsy was 72.1 per 100,000 person-years with slightly higher rates seen among females. Incidence rates were highest at ages less than 12 months (199.8/100,000 person-years), followed by the eldest age group (70-74 years, 179.4/100,000 person-years)Conclusions: Understanding the magnitude of disease burden is the basis of determining health policies. In this study, the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in Japan was shown based on the analysis results of a large-scale general population insurance claims data covering all over Japan.