Study Suggests Those With Seizure Disorders Can Work Safely

[RobinN]

ScienceDaily (Jan. 1, 2009) — Subject to sudden unexpected seizures, [those with seizure disorders] are often a subject of discrimination in the workforce. Many employers are hesitant to hire [people with seizure disorders], fearing that stressful workplace situations might bring on an attack. But a new Tel Aviv University study suggests these fears are groundless.

New research findings from Dr. Shlomo Moshe of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine show that occupational stress has no effect at all on the incidence of epilepsy attacks. The research also gives physicians and employers important information to assess the health and safety of prospective employees who suffer from the disease. It especially benefits those who have been seizure-free for a long period of time, because indicators show they are likely to stay seizure-free.

“People are prejudiced against [those who have seizures], who learn how hide their condition very well,” says Dr. Moshe. “It becomes a problem when they’re trying to get work, because most employers avoid hiring [people who have a seizure disorder]. But occupational physicians have been asking for years, ‘What are the real risks?’ Our new study provides the answer.”

Unprecedented in Size and Predictive Power

According to the Epilepsy Foundation, more than 3 million Americans suffer from epilepsy and 200,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. One in 10 adults will have a seizure sometime in their lifetime. There is no cure for the disorder, and even when it’s in remission, there is a strong stigma against people with epilepsy.

The largest of its kind ever conducted, Dr. Moshe’s study, recently reported in the journal Epilepsia, surveyed over 300,000 people with no history of epilepsy and compared them to a sample of 16,000 epileptics. The last major study to investigate the risk of occupational stress on epilepsy, reported a few years ago by the New England Journal of Medicine, was based on a sample size of only 200 people, making this new Tel Aviv University study a real first in medical history.

With such a large sample size, Dr. Moshe is able to predict with high levels of certainty when ― and whether ― seizures might strike. This will reassure those with the disease, as well as the employers and insurance companies who provide health coverage for them.

“We proved with very high levels of predictability that we can pinpoint the chances of a person having another seizure,” says Dr. Moshe, who is also a practicing physician at Maccabi Healthcare Services, an occupational health clinic in Tel Aviv. “For example, if we see that someone had their last attack as a child, we can show that their chances for a full remission of epilepsy are quite high.”

A Matter of Timing

Over a period of three years, the researchers in the Israeli study compared the rate of seizures to the types of duties each group of subjects was assigned to perform ― manual labor, combat fighting, or office work.

“The type of assignment didn't affect a person’s chance of having a seizure at all. The biggest predictor of recurrence is time ― when the last seizure struck. Those that had seizures more than five years ago have little to worry about today,” Dr. Moshe advises.

Dr. Moshe is an occupational physician, working in Maccabi Healthcare Services. The organization supports and encourages clinical research taking place in the community in cooperation with Tel Aviv University and other University-affiliated medical centres.

Epilepsy Study

I changed Epileptic to the words in [ ], because the word is offensive and degrading to many

[Crazy Monkey]

My job can be very stressful and this is nearly everyday and not once in a blue moon, sometimes my workplace is totally dependent on me to keep production running in machine breakdown situations otherwise the company I work for stand to lose hundreds of thousands uk pounds.

This kind of stress I can cope with and as far as I am aware it has never caused me to have seizures. Recently when the job cuts were a threat is the kind of stress that can make my seizures go through the roof.

The only problem I have in the workplace is triggers and trying to avoid them, I try to keep one step ahead of anything that looks like it might affect me. I am my own safety officer due to no one knowing about my seizures. I have held the same position for nearly 11 years and if it ever does come out about my seizures I would hope that no one I work with would discriminate against me, sometimes I think it is good to let people get to know you before you talk about your seizures, because then you get to see who you can trust.

[Belinda5000]

I've tried working. It didn't last long for me 7 months was the longest for me and I was working for my mother.
Stress is good bringing on my seizures.
My last job I worked with my husband it was an easy job my seizures just weren't managing well.I had a great boss.
Who in the end was afraid I'd have a seizure fall into the machinery.
that lasted 2 months.
I sleeved video tapes before they got a machine to do it.
I loved that job.

Belinda