Skip to main content
Advertisement
  • Neurology.org
  • Journals
    • Neurology
    • Clinical Practice
    • Genetics
    • Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation
  • Specialty Sites
    • COVID-19
    • Practice Current
    • Practice Buzz
    • Without Borders
    • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Innovations in Care Delivery
  • Collections
    • Topics A-Z
    • Residents & Fellows
    • Infographics
    • Patient Pages
    • Null Hypothesis
    • Translations
  • Podcast
  • CME
  • About
    • About the Journals
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Author Center

Advanced Search

Main menu

  • Neurology.org
  • Journals
    • Neurology
    • Clinical Practice
    • Genetics
    • Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation
  • Specialty Sites
    • COVID-19
    • Practice Current
    • Practice Buzz
    • Without Borders
    • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Innovations in Care Delivery
  • Collections
    • Topics A-Z
    • Residents & Fellows
    • Infographics
    • Patient Pages
    • Null Hypothesis
    • Translations
  • Podcast
  • CME
  • About
    • About the Journals
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Author Center
  • Home
  • Latest Articles
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Residents & Fellows

User menu

  • Subscribe
  • My Alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Neurology
Home
The most widely read and highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal
  • Subscribe
  • My Alerts
  • Log in
Site Logo
  • Home
  • Latest Articles
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Residents & Fellows

Share

March 27, 2018; 90 (13) Article

Epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs, and serious transport accidents

A nationwide cohort study

Heléne E.K. Sundelin, Zheng Chang, Henrik Larsson, Paul Lichtenstein, Catarina Almqvist, Torbjörn Tomson, Jonas F. Ludvigsson
First published February 28, 2018, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000005210
Heléne E.K. Sundelin
From the Department of Pediatrics (H.E.K.S.), Linköping University Hospital; Departments of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Z.C., H.L., P.L., C.A., J.F.L.) and Clinical Neuroscience (T.T.), Karolinska Institutet; Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (C.A.), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Pediatrics (J.F.L.), Örebro University Hospital, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine (J.F.L.), University of Nottingham, UK; and Department of Medicine (J.F.L.), Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Zheng Chang
From the Department of Pediatrics (H.E.K.S.), Linköping University Hospital; Departments of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Z.C., H.L., P.L., C.A., J.F.L.) and Clinical Neuroscience (T.T.), Karolinska Institutet; Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (C.A.), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Pediatrics (J.F.L.), Örebro University Hospital, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine (J.F.L.), University of Nottingham, UK; and Department of Medicine (J.F.L.), Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Henrik Larsson
From the Department of Pediatrics (H.E.K.S.), Linköping University Hospital; Departments of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Z.C., H.L., P.L., C.A., J.F.L.) and Clinical Neuroscience (T.T.), Karolinska Institutet; Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (C.A.), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Pediatrics (J.F.L.), Örebro University Hospital, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine (J.F.L.), University of Nottingham, UK; and Department of Medicine (J.F.L.), Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Paul Lichtenstein
From the Department of Pediatrics (H.E.K.S.), Linköping University Hospital; Departments of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Z.C., H.L., P.L., C.A., J.F.L.) and Clinical Neuroscience (T.T.), Karolinska Institutet; Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (C.A.), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Pediatrics (J.F.L.), Örebro University Hospital, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine (J.F.L.), University of Nottingham, UK; and Department of Medicine (J.F.L.), Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Catarina Almqvist
From the Department of Pediatrics (H.E.K.S.), Linköping University Hospital; Departments of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Z.C., H.L., P.L., C.A., J.F.L.) and Clinical Neuroscience (T.T.), Karolinska Institutet; Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (C.A.), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Pediatrics (J.F.L.), Örebro University Hospital, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine (J.F.L.), University of Nottingham, UK; and Department of Medicine (J.F.L.), Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Torbjörn Tomson
From the Department of Pediatrics (H.E.K.S.), Linköping University Hospital; Departments of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Z.C., H.L., P.L., C.A., J.F.L.) and Clinical Neuroscience (T.T.), Karolinska Institutet; Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (C.A.), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Pediatrics (J.F.L.), Örebro University Hospital, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine (J.F.L.), University of Nottingham, UK; and Department of Medicine (J.F.L.), Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jonas F. Ludvigsson
From the Department of Pediatrics (H.E.K.S.), Linköping University Hospital; Departments of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Z.C., H.L., P.L., C.A., J.F.L.) and Clinical Neuroscience (T.T.), Karolinska Institutet; Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (C.A.), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Pediatrics (J.F.L.), Örebro University Hospital, Sweden; Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine (J.F.L.), University of Nottingham, UK; and Department of Medicine (J.F.L.), Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Full PDF
Citation
Epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs, and serious transport accidents
A nationwide cohort study
Heléne E.K. Sundelin, Zheng Chang, Henrik Larsson, Paul Lichtenstein, Catarina Almqvist, Torbjörn Tomson, Jonas F. Ludvigsson
Neurology Mar 2018, 90 (13) e1111-e1118; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000005210

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Permissions

Make Comment

See Comments

Downloads
230

Share

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Disclosures
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Abstract

Objectives To investigate the association between epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs and serious transport accidents requiring emergency care or resulting in death.

Methods We identified 29,220 individuals 18 years or older with epilepsy without cerebral palsy or intellectual disability and 267,637 matched controls using Swedish registers. This nationwide cohort was followed from 2006 to 2013 for serious transport accidents. We used Cox regression to analyze the risk of serious transport accidents between individuals with epilepsy and matched controls, and then stratified Cox regression to compare the risk during periods of medication with the risk during nonmedication period within the same individual with epilepsy. We adjusted for civil status, employment, education, living area, psychiatric disorders prior to the start of follow-up, and psychotropic medication.

Results Compared to matched controls, individuals with epilepsy were at increased risk of serious transport accidents (hazard ratio [HR] 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29–1.46). There were increased risks of pedestrian accidents (HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.69–2.97), bicycle accidents (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.49–1.89) and car accidents (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.19–1.44). However, among patients with a diagnosis of epilepsy, use of antiepileptic drugs did not influence the risk of serious transport accidents in population-level comparisons (HR 0.97; 95% CI 0.85–1.11) or within-individual comparisons (HR 0.99; 95% CI 0.69–1.42).

Conclusion Serious transportation accidents were more common in individuals with epilepsy, but this risk was independent of use of antiepileptic drugs.

Glossary

ACT=
Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification;
AED=
antiepileptic drug;
CI=
confidence interval;
HR=
hazard ratio;
ICD=
International Classification of Diseases;
NPR=
National Patient Register;
STA=
serious transport accidents

Footnotes

  • ↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.

  • Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.

  • Editorial, page 583

  • Patient Page: NPub.org/patient

  • Received July 19, 2017.
  • Accepted in final form December 13, 2017.
  • © 2018 American Academy of Neurology
View Full Text

AAN Members

We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.

Google Safari Microsoft Edge Firefox

Click here to login

AAN Non-Member Subscribers

Click here to login

Purchase access

For assistance, please contact:
AAN Members (800) 879-1960 or (612) 928-6000 (International)
Non-AAN Member subscribers (800) 638-3030 or (301) 223-2300 option 3, select 1 (international)

Sign Up
Information on how to subscribe to Neurology and Neurology: Clinical Practice can be found here 

Purchase
Individual access to articles is available through the Add to Cart option on the article page.  Access for 1 day (from the computer you are currently using) is US$ 39.00.  Pay-per-view content is for the use of the payee only, and content may not be further distributed by print or electronic means.  The payee may view, download, and/or print the article for his/her personal, scholarly, research, and educational use.  Distributing copies (electronic or otherwise) of the article is not allowed.

Disputes & Debates: Rapid online correspondence

No comments have been published for this article.
Comment

NOTE: All authors' disclosures must be entered and current in our database before comments can be posted. Enter and update disclosures at http://submit.neurology.org. Exception: replies to comments concerning an article you originally authored do not require updated disclosures.

  • Stay timely. Submit only on articles published within the last 8 weeks.
  • Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
  • 200 words maximum.
  • 5 references maximum. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
  • 5 authors maximum. Exception: replies can include all original authors of the article.
  • Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.

More guidelines and information on Disputes & Debates

Compose Comment

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Author Information
NOTE: The first author must also be the corresponding author of the comment.
First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'.
Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'.
Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com
Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'.
Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.
Publishing Agreement
NOTE: All authors, besides the first/corresponding author, must complete a separate Disputes & Debates Submission Form and provide via email to the editorial office before comments can be posted.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Vertical Tabs

You May Also be Interested in

Back to top
  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Glossary
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Author contributions
    • Study funding
    • Disclosure
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Disclosures
Advertisement

Related Articles

  • Epilepsy and transportationMoving through the confusion

Topics Discussed

  • All Epilepsy/Seizures
  • All epidemiology
  • Cohort studies

Alert Me

  • Alert me when eletters are published
Neurology: 96 (2)

Articles

  • Ahead of Print
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Popular Articles
  • Translations

About

  • About the Journals
  • Ethics Policies
  • Editors & Editorial Board
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise

Submit

  • Author Center
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Information for Reviewers
  • AAN Guidelines
  • Permissions

Subscribers

  • Subscribe
  • Activate a Subscription
  • Sign up for eAlerts
  • RSS Feed
Site Logo
  • Visit neurology Template on Facebook
  • Follow neurology Template on Twitter
  • Visit Neurology on YouTube
  • Neurology
  • Neurology: Clinical Practice
  • Neurology: Genetics
  • Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation
  • AAN.com
  • AANnews
  • Continuum
  • Brain & Life
  • Neurology Today

Wolters Kluwer Logo

Neurology | Print ISSN:0028-3878
Online ISSN:1526-632X

© 2021 American Academy of Neurology

  • Privacy Policy
  • Feedback
  • Advertise