An epidemiologic study of febrile seizures and epilepsy in children.

Prevalence and annual incidence rates of febrile seizures and types of epilepsy were investigated in all children of the Altenburg district (German Democratic Republic) being 0-14 years old. The mean total population for the period 1982 through 1985 was 108,905. The proportion of children aged 0-14 years was 20,132. The average annual incidence of febrile seizures in children being 0-5 years old was 240.8/100,000. For children between 0 and 14 years the rate of epilepsy 51.1/100,000. Based on 87 epileptic patients, the exact point prevalence rate per 1000 on December 31, 1985, was 4.4.