Risk Factors of SUDEP

Numerous studies over the past decade have shown without any doubt that there is a higher mortality risk in patients with epilepsy than in the general population. The cause of death may be related to the cause of epilepsy, being directly related to a seizure (status epilepticus or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy; SUDEP), a consequence of seizures (accidents, etc), other associated pathologies (cancer, cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, pneumonia, etc) or an associated disorder (depression or suicide). A SUDEP is defined as a sudden, non-traumatic, unexpected death in a patient with epilepsy, not necessarily in the presence of witnesses, that is not due to drowning, with or without evidence of a seizure, excluding documented status epilepticus and in which a post-mortem autopsy reveals no anatomical or toxicological cause of death. Little is known about SUDEP and its mechanisms and risk factors.

A French national network on epilepsy related death (Reseau Sentinelle Mortalité Epilepsie, RSME) will be initially established in 2010 by the French League Against Epilepsy (LFCE) under the leadership of bereaved families and supported by the French Foundation for Epilepsy Research (FFRE). This epidemiological study is based on the RSME.

The Main objective of this study to identify risk factors of SUDEP, in particular night-time supervision and the risks associated with anti-epileptic drugs including compliance and drug interactions.

The study design is an epidemiological case-control study. The cases are SUDEP identified in the RSME and French centres of Epileptology.

Epilepsy-related deaths are reported by physicians but also by bereaved families. An interview with a psychologist will be proposed at this moment.

The control group will include patients with epilepsy and relatives of patients from tertiary epilepsy units (in particular, participants of GRENAT registry or a national multicenter study RESPOMSE), private neurologists or general practitioners and thanks from patients associations.

Sociodemographic data, lifestyle, personal and family medical history will be collected during an interview with a psychologist by phone or during a face to face interview. For bereaved families, information on causes and circumstances of beloved one's death will be collected during these interviews.The characteristics of epilepsy will be completed by the patient's neurologist.