Young people with epilepsy are much more likely to suffer poisonings, burn-related injuries and broken bones compared to those without the condition, a new study has found.

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

UK researchers studied the GP records of almost 12,000 people with epilepsy and compared these to the records of some 47,000 people without the condition. They specifically looked at the incidence of injury over a two-and-a-half year period.

All of the patients were aged between 12 months and 24 years.

The study found that overall, young people with epilepsy were at least twice as likely to be poisoned with medication than their peers without epilepsy. Those aged between 19 and 24 years were four times more likely to be poisoned.

"More research is needed to understand why people with epilepsy have a greater number of medicine-related poisonings and whether the poisonings are intentional or accidental," commented Dr Vibhore Prasad of the University of Nottingham.

Meanwhile, the study also found that young people with epilepsy were almost 25% more likely to break their arm or leg than their peers without epilepsy. They were also almost one-and-a-half times more likely to suffer a burn injury.

While previous studies have suggested a link between epilepsy and an increased risk of accidental injuries, they have tended to focus on people with very severe forms of the condition. This marks the first study to assess the possible risk of injury exclusively in children and young adults both with and without the condition.

The researchers believe that doctors and other healthcare professionals working in this field should use these findings to make young people with epilepsy, and their families, more aware of the potential risk of injury associated with the condition.

They also call for more information to be made available relating to the safe storage of medication and the supervision of children when taking their medicines.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Pediatrics.

For more information on epilepsy, see our Epilepsy Clinic here