People with epilepsy are significantly more likely to die before they reach their mid-50s compared to people without the condition, a new study has found.

They are also much more likely to be diagnosed with a psychiatric illness.

Around 37,000 Irish people have epilepsy, a condition characterised by recurring seizures. These are caused by abnormal electrical impulses in the brain.

UK and Swedish researchers looked at almost 70,000 people who had been born with epilepsy between 1954 and 2009. They compared information on causes of death between those with epilepsy and more than 660,000 people without the condition over the period 1969 to 2009.

The study found that people with epilepsy were 10 times more likely to die before their mid-50s compared to members of the general population. They were also four times more likely to have been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness.

According to the researchers, these figures are much higher than previously estimated and could have major implications for the management of epilepsy.

The study found that the most important cause of death among people with epilepsy that was not clearly linked to the condition itself was death by external causes such as suicide or an accident.

Three in four of these deaths were among people who had been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness.

The study also noted that while overall, deaths from suicide and accidents were rare, those with epilepsy were four times more likely to die by suicide compared to members of the general population.

There also seemed to be a big link between mental health problems and addiction among those with epilepsy.

According to the study's main author, Dr Seena Fazel, of the University of Oxford, this is the largest study to date to look into the link between psychiatric problems in epilepsy and premature death.

"Our finding that three-quarters of suicide and accident deaths in epilepsy also had a diagnosis of mental illness strongly identifies this as a high risk population to focus preventative strategies and more intensive treatment on," he suggested.

Dr Fazel insisted that improving the identification, monitoring and treatment of people with epilepsy and psychiatric problems ‘could make an important contribution to reducing the risk of premature death that we're currently seeing in these patients'.

Commenting on the findings, Prof Charles Newton of Oxford University's department of psychiatry, noted that in many countries, epilepsy is often managed by neurologists only.

"The findings from this study would suggest that clinical epilepsy services should review their liaison with psychiatric and addiction services as a priority," he suggested.

The study took into account the unaffected brothers and sisters of those with epilepsy in order to eliminate the possible influence of shared background factors, such as genetic and environmental risk factors.

The results provide more evidence that epilepsy is an independent risk factor for death by any cause, the researchers added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, The Lancet.

For more information on epilepsy, see our Epilepsy Clinic here