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The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

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Data and Research

Contact the Epilepsy Program

Estimated number of people with active epilepsy in Florida by age group in 2023:

Total number of cases: 172,600
Number of cases for the ages 0-17: 26,200
Number of cases for the ages 18+: 146,400

Prevalence

Based on the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS):

  • Approximately 403,300 Florida adults (2.2%) have ever been told by a doctor that they have a seizure disorder or epilepsy.
  • Among those, approximately 36.3% (146,400) were taking medication to control it.
  • Approximately 64.5% of individuals with seizure disorder or epilepsy have some form of health insurance. This is significantly lower compared to individuals without epilepsy (90.3%).

Based on the 2023 National Survey of Children’s Health:

  • Approximately 1% of children in the United States have ever been diagnosed with epilepsy and 0.6% currently have the condition.
  • Using Florida’s 2023 population of children ages 0-17 (4,356,300) and applying the national prevalence rates estimates of epilepsy, it is estimated that:
    • 43,600 Florida children ages 0-17 have ever been diagnosed with epilepsy, and
    • 26,200 Florida children ages 0-17 currently have epilepsy.

Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations

In 2024, there were 21,738 hospitalizations and 31,204 emergency department visits with epilepsy listed as the principal diagnosis.