A review of research about the racial differences in epilepsy suggests a number of facts regarding the condition.

Some differences in how often epilepsy occurs has been seen in a few studies. Research suggests the following:

• Epilepsy is more common in people of Hispanic background than in non-Hispanics.
• Active epilepsy (which means that the person’s seizures are not completely controlled) is more common in whites than in blacks.
• The numbers of people who develop epilepsy over a lifetime (called lifetime prevalence) is higher in blacks than in whites.
• An estimated 1.5 percent of Asian Americans are living with epilepsy today.
• The cause(s) of these differences is unknown. It may be related to social and economic factors or the ability of people to get health care. For example:
• People with lower socioeconomic status have a higher rate of developing seizures and epilepsy
• Differences in where and when people get health care for their epilepsy has been found for people of different racial backgrounds.
• These differences lead to what is called a ‘treatment gap’. It’s possible that this treatment gaps is part of the reasons for racial differences in epilepsy.