CONVULSIONS AMONG THE CHAMORRO PEOPLE OF GUAM, MARIANA ISLANDS

Abstract

A comparison of methods for studying febrile convulsions on Guam indicated that the best method was a follow-up of birth cohorts in their fifth and tenth years by contacting mothers using a mailed questionnaire and interviews. Village surveys detected one half to two thirds of cases. Clinical sources contributed very little to case-finding and were highly selective. The prevalence of febrile convulsive histories in four Guam villages as ascertained in the cohort study reached 11% by the fifth year of life. The incidence rate up to that age was 26 per 1000 per year, and in the following five years of life was 2.5 per 1000 per year. There were significant differences in prevalence among the villages. Subjects who experienced repeated febrile convulsive episodes appeared to differ from those who had none or one only, and probably comprise a subpopulation at higher risk of developing a seizure disorder. Provided that fever was not associated with a specific brain-damaging infection, a single convulsive episode regardless of severity, not followed by subsequent febrile convulsions, did not indicate that a future seizure disorder was likely to occur.