A research has stated that as compared to people who do not have epilepsy, people who have it are 11 times more likely to die early.

According to the lead researcher Seena Fazel from the University of Oxford, the condition affects about 70 million people across the world and this has led to significant public health implications.

From 1954 to 2009, about 70,000 people were analysed by the researchers. These people had epilepsy and were from Sweden. The outcomes from these people were compared with 660,000 age and sex-matched people, along with 82,000 of their siblings born without epilepsy.

Death happened among 9 per cent, or 6,155 of people who suffered from epilepsy compared with 0.7 per cent of those in the general population who were examined.

Suicides, assaults and accidents claimed one in eight deaths among those who died.

The study however does not state how early are people likely to die due to epilepsy.

It was stated, "The findings showed that people with both epilepsy and substance misuse were 22 times more likely to die from external causes than those with neither condition."