Seasonality of birth in epilepsy: a Southern Hemisphere study.

A consistent pattern has emerged from research in Northern Hemisphere populations indicating differences in the seasonality of birth between patients with epilepsy and the general population. This is the first study using similar methodology to look at Southern Hemisphere data. The population studied is composed of patients discharged from Australian hospitals with a diagnosis of epilepsy, in the period 1998-1999. The results show a significantly higher incidence of epilepsy in the patients born during the Australian winter and summer and a deficit of patients born during the spring and fall. This pattern is consistent with the Northern Hemisphere findings. This study provides further evidence of the existence of a seasonal aetiological agent(s) for epilepsy acting in the perinatal period.