Stress main factor for seizures in people with epilepsy, finds Apple study

New York: Establishing the link between stress and epilepsy, a new study suggests emotional conflicts as the most common seizure trigger, followed by lack of sleep.

Stress as a seizure trigger was more common among people who worked full time than those who worked part-time or were unemployed.

Using the Apple Watch app - known as EpiWatch - researchers observed that stress and lack of sleep are the reasons for seizures in people with epilepsy.

The Apple app provides helpful tracking of seizures, prescription medication use and drug side-effects.

The findings revealed that stress - linked to 37 per cent of seizures - was the most common trigger, followed by lack of sleep (18 per cent), menstruation (12 per cent) and over-exertion (11 per cent).

Further, stress was more commonly reported as a trigger in people who worked full-time (35 per cent) as compared to those who worked part-time (21 per cent), unemployed (27 per cent) or were disabled (29 per cent).

"Seizures are very unpredictable. Our eventual goal is to be able to use wearable technology to predict an oncoming seizure. This could potentially save lives as well as give people with epilepsy more freedom," said study author Gregory Krauss from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, US.

Other reported triggers included diet, lack of medications and fever or infection.

"The data collected will help researchers better understand epilepsy, while helping people with epilepsy keep a more complete history of their seizures," Krauss added.

For the study, the team examined 598 people who signed up to track their seizures with EpiWatch.

When participants felt a seizure aura starting, they opened the app.

Using the Apple Watch's sensors, EpiWatch recorded participants' heart rate and movements for 10 minutes.

After the seizure ended, participants were given a brief survey about seizure type, aura, loss of awareness and possible seizure triggers, the researchers said.

The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 69th Annual Meeting in Boston.

(With IANS inputs)