Editing Epilepsy (section)

===Mortality===
People with epilepsy may have a higher risk of premature death compared to those without the condition.<ref name=Hit2007/> This risk is estimated to be between 1.6 and 4.1 times greater than that of the general population.<ref name=Mosh2009>{{cite book | veditors = Shorvon S, Perucca E, Engel J |title=The treatment of epilepsy|year=2009|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=Chichester, UK|isbn=978-1-4443-1667-4|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rFFzFzZJtasC&pg=PA28|edition=3rd|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610155113/https://books.google.com/books?id=rFFzFzZJtasC&pg=PA28|archive-date=10 June 2016}}</ref> The greatest increase in mortality from epilepsy is among the elderly.<ref name=Mosh2009/> Those with epilepsy due to an unknown cause have a relatively low increase in risk.<ref name=Mosh2009/>

Mortality is often related to the underlying cause of the seizures, status epilepticus, suicide, [[major trauma|trauma]], and [[sudden unexpected death in epilepsy]] (SUDEP).<ref name=Hit2007>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hitiris N, Mohanraj R, Norrie J, Brodie MJ | title = Mortality in epilepsy | journal = Epilepsy & Behavior | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 363–376 | date = May 2007 | pmid = 17337248 | doi = 10.1016/j.yebeh.2007.01.005 }}</ref> Death from status epilepticus is primarily due to an underlying problem rather than missing doses of medications.<ref name=Hit2007/> The risk of suicide is between two and six times higher in those with epilepsy;<ref name=Bagary2011>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bagary M | title = Epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs and suicidality | journal = Current Opinion in Neurology | volume = 24 | issue = 2 | pages = 177–182 | date = April 2011 | pmid = 21293270 | doi = 10.1097/WCO.0b013e328344533e }}</ref><ref name=Mula2013>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mula M, Sander JW | title = Suicide risk in people with epilepsy taking antiepileptic drugs | journal = Bipolar Disorders | volume = 15 | issue = 5 | pages = 622–627 | date = August 2013 | pmid = 23755740 | doi = 10.1111/bdi.12091 }}</ref> the cause of this is unclear.<ref name=Bagary2011/> SUDEP appears to be partly related to the frequency of generalized tonic-clonic seizures<ref name=Ry2013>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ryvlin P, Nashef L, Tomson T | title = Prevention of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: a realistic goal? | journal = Epilepsia | volume = 54 | issue = Suppl 2 | pages = 23–28 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 23646967 | doi = 10.1111/epi.12180 | doi-access = free }}</ref> and accounts for about 15% of epilepsy-related deaths;<ref name="Fast2012">{{cite book |title=Fast facts: epilepsy |vauthors=Kwan P |publisher=Health Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-908541-12-3 |edition=5th |location=Abingdon, Oxford, UK |page=10}}</ref> it is unclear how to decrease its risk.<ref name=Ry2013/> Risk factors for SUDEP include nocturnal generalized tonic-clonic seizures, seizures, sleeping alone and medically intractable epilepsy.<ref name="pmid36270688">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kløvgaard M, Sabers A, Ryvlin P | title = Update on Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy | journal = Neurologic Clinics | volume = 40 | issue = 4 | pages = 741–754 | date = November 2022 | pmid = 36270688 | doi = 10.1016/j.ncl.2022.06.001 }}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that 40–60% of deaths are possibly preventable.<ref name="National Clinical Guideline 21_28" /> In the developing world, many deaths are due to untreated epilepsy leading to falls or status epilepticus.<ref name=Poor2012/>