Epidemiologic Follow Up Study of Newly Diagnosed Epilepsy Among Seniors

The purpose of this proposed research is to identify individuals in southeastern Arizona aged 65 years and older who have new onset seizures (or newly diagnosed epilepsy) and monitor them for at least two years. In doing so the investigators will be able to describe the public health burden of this condition and to identify factors that predict clinical outcomes and health care needs in this population, using quantitative, administrative, and qualitative data. The aims of this proposed research are 1) to determine the two-year incidence of newly diagnosed epilepsy in the target population, 2) describe health care resource utilization of the target population using Medicare data, 3) validate the use of Medicare beneficiary data to estimate incidence of epilepsy, and 4) describe the burden of this condition in different ethnic groups.