Sleeping on stomach is associated with sudden death in epilepsy, study finds

People with epilepsy who sleep on their stomach may be at higher risk of sudden unexpected death, indicates a systematic review showing that nearly three quarters of people with epilepsy who died unexpectedly had been sleeping in the prone position, suggesting a shared mechanism with sudden infant death syndrome.1

“Sudden unexpected death is the main cause of death in uncontrolled epilepsy and usually occurs unwitnessed during sleep,” explained the study’s lead author, James Tao, associate professor of …