Epilepsy in prison: elevated prevalence and no relationship to violence.

The epidemiologic, clinical, and social characteristics of epilepsy were investigated in men entering the Illinois prison system and compared with a matched control group of prisoners without epilepsy. The prevalence of epilepsy was 2.4%, four times higher than the prevalence among men aged 20 to 39 in Rochester, MN. Head trauma was the probable cause of epilepsy among 45% of the prisoners with epilepsy, a much higher percentage than that reported in studies of other populations. In comparison with an age- and race-matched group of prisoners without epilepsy, the epilepsy group was not convicted of more serious or more violent crimes.