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The question
The weather can sometimes play a role in health issues — headaches, heart problems, stiff joints, dry skin and more. Should this list include seizures?
This study
Researchers analyzed data on 604 adults who had been hospitalized for an epileptic seizure, along with meteorological data — temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure — for a few days before each person’s seizure. During that time, seizures were more likely when atmospheric pressure was low, especially for those with less severe epilepsy (defined as people taking only one anti-epileptic medication); high atmospheric pressure decreased the risk for seizure. Seizures also were more common when humidity was high. Temperatures above 68 degrees lessened the chance of a seizure, especially among men.
Who may be affected?
People with epilepsy, a neurological disorder involving abnormal electrical activity in the brain that causes recurrent, usually unpredictable seizures that range from mild and barely noticeable to severe and life-threatening. Such treatments as medications, surgery and nerve stimulation allow most seizures to be controlled.
Caveats
All people in the study lived in a temperate climate zone, with mild summers and moderately cool winters; whether the findings would be similar for people in other climates was not tested.
Find this study
Online in Epilepsia, (Search for “Epilepsia Wiley Online,” then click on “Early View.”)
Learn more
Information on epilepsy is available at ninds.nih.gov/disorders. (Search for “epilepsies and seizures.”) Learn about living with epilepsy at cdc.gov. (Search for “managing epilepsy.”)
The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals.
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