Abstract:
Background: Epilepsy is a paroxysmal disorder in which a person has two or more unprovoked
seizures. It is estimated to affect 49 out of every 100,000 people in high-income countries each
year. Because of the increased risk of endemic condition, the 80% of people with epilepsy live in
low- and middle-income countries. Even though the prevalence of disease in Ethiopia is
5.2/1000, there has not been sufficient study done about the determinants of epilepsy.
Objective: To assess determinant of epilepsy among out patients in Dawo public health
institutions, February 29 to April 15 2023.
Method: An institutional-based unmatched case-control study design was applied among 61
cases and 122 controls study subjects who were selected by consecutive sampling technique in
Dawo public health institutions, and face-to-face interviews using pre-tested adapted a structured
questionnaire were used to assess the determinants of epilepsy. Data were coded and entered into
EPIDATA version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20, and descriptive analysis was used to
describe the percentages and number distributions. Logistic regression analysis was used to
identify determinants of epilepsy, and a variable with a p ˂ 0.05 was considered significant.
Result: A total of 61 cases and 120 controls were included in the study with overall response
rate of 98.9%. Majority of participants 38(62.3) of cases and 63(52.5) controls were farmers by
occupation. Family history of epilepsy (AOR=13.71 (95%CI 3.03-22.006), history of febrile
seizure (AOR=14.57 (95% CI 2.930-24.522), history of head injury (AOR=6.853 (95% CI 1.78-
16.402) and non-use of latrine were found to be determinant of epilepsy (AOR= 0.028 (95% CI
0.008-0.04).
Conclusion and Recommendations: this study identified family history of epilepsy, history of
febrile seizures, head injury, and unavailability of latrines as strong independent predictors of
epilepsy in the study area. The information that adverse febrile seizures increased the risk of
epilepsy suggests that much of the epilepsy in Dawo district may be preventable by improved
maternal, neonatal, and child care and it is recommended that the Dawo health office at different
levels and stakeholders work on it.
