Epilepsy in India: Epidemiological Insights, Socioeconomic Determinants, and Emerging Role of Artificial Intelligence

ABSTRACTEpilepsy, a neurological disorder affecting 70 million people globally, is a major public healthproblem, especially in India, where 12 million people are affected. The prevalence rates arecomparable to high-income countries, highlighting the importanceof effective publichealth carepreventive and control measures. Socioeconomic factors and demographic changes in Indiacontribute significantly to the prevalence of epilepsy, with higher rates observed among ruralmales and populationswith lower socioeconomic groups, highlighting the necessity for targetedoutreach to these vulnerable populations. Environmental and sociocultural factors, geneticpredisposition, and unidentified causes like neuroinfectious diseases, neurocysticercosis,neurotrauma, and birth traumas also influence epilepsy. A comprehensive strategy is needed toaddress these etiological factors and identify potential areas for preventative therapy. Theartificial intelligence (AI)-based automated detection system for seizures holds exciting promisefor creating paradigms for accurate diagnosis and interpretation. AI possesses the promise ofcreating a system of health care in which the machine and the human can work together toprovide an accurate and timely diagnosis with treatment for the patients.