Distribution of clinical characteristics in cases and controls
| Epilepsy cohort (n=185) | Control cohort (n=178) | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Male gender (%) | 85 (46) | 65 (37) | 0.068 |
| Mean age, years | 38 (13.3) | 48 (12.5) | <0.001 |
| Cardiac comorbidity (%) | |||
| ≥2 cardiac risk factors | 7 (4) | 11 (6) | 0.293 |
| Myocardial infarction | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 0.969 |
| All-heart disease | 3 (2) | 3 (2) | 0.962 |
| Medication use (%) | |||
| QT-prolonging drugs | 39 (21) | 1 (1) | <0.001 |
| Depolarisation-blocking drugs | 145 (78) | 1 (1) | <0.001 |
| Cardiovascular drugs | 32 (17) | 26 (15) | 0.484 |
| Lipid-lowering drugs | 9 (5) | 6 (3) | 0.475 |
| ECG parameters | |||
| Heart rate, beats per min | 70.7 (11.4) | 61.8 (9.8) | <0.001 |
| PQ, msec | 162.8 (26.0) | 152.6 (32.6) | 0.001 |
| QRS, msec | 88.7 (13.8) | 91.0 (10.3) | 0.066 |
| QTc, msec | 404.8 (33.0) | 393.5 (24.8) | <0.001 |
| Brugada ECG pattern (%) | 3 (2) | 2 (1) | >0.999 |
| Severe QTc prolongation (%) | 10 (5) | 0 (0) | 0.002 |
| ERP (lateral and/or inferior) (%) | 62 (34) | 23 (13) | <0.001 |
| ERP (inferior) (%) | 50 (27) | 20 (11) | <0.001 |
Dichotomous data are expressed as n (%), and continuous data as mean (SD) unless indicated otherwise. p Values are calculated with the χ2 or the Fisher's exact test in dichotomous data, and with the Student t test in continuous data unless indicated otherwise. Cardiac risk factors include hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, and diabetes.
ERP, early repolarisation pattern.