Epilepsy in the northern Finland birth cohort 1966 with special reference to fertility.

The aim of the study was to evaluate both the prevalence of epilepsy and the reproductive history of subjects with epilepsy in a population-based cohort study. The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC 1966) comprises 12,058 subjects with 39 years of follow-up. Of these subjects, 222 were identified as having epilepsy on the basis of information obtained from mailed questionnaires, hospital discharge registers, and records for reimbursed antiepileptic medications. The information on reproductive outcome was also updated. Both men and women with epilepsy did not differ from the reference group with respect to number of children. However, subjects with active epilepsy during adulthood had fewer children than those who achieved remission before adulthood. Subjects with epilepsy who achieved remission before adulthood did not differ from control subjects with respect to number of children.