Sleeping Position May Increase Mortality Risk Among Epilepsy Patients

Sleeping a certain way could increase mortality risk for epilepsy patients. Recent findings published in the journal Neurology found that though a relatively rare occurrence, unexpected death has been known to occur in those with the health problem.

Lead study author and assistant professor of neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City Daniel Friedman discovered that patients with this neurological condition should not sleep on their chest.

"We found that prone sleeping is a significant risk for sudden, unexpected death in epilepsy, particularly in younger patients under age 40," said Tao, via Health Day.

For the study, researchers reviewed 25 previously published studies, along with the details of 253 sudden, unexplained deaths of epilepsy patients with information that was available on body position at the time of death.

Findings revealed that about 73 percent of the patients died while sleeping on their stomach. Furthermore, in a subgroup of 88 cases, those who were younger than 40 were about four times more likely to have died in a stomach sleeping position than older individuals. Eighty-six percent of those younger than 40 and 60 percent of those over 40 were also found dead on their stomachs.

While researchers can speculate that some of the younger patients with epilepsy may have been more likely to be alone and without a bed partner, the common link among them was the sleeping position. However, it's not necessarily proof that sleeping on the stomach is the cause of death.

"It's an association, not cause and effect," Tao concluded.

Statistics show that 2.3 million adults in the United States alone are affected by seizure disorder; that's 1 in 26 people who will be diagnosed with the health issue--otherwise known as epilepsy--at some point in their lives.

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