Patients with post-stroke seizures have more than double the risk of death and poor functional outcomes compared with those without, report US-led researchers in the largest review to date.

The study of nearly 1.2 million adults with a history of stroke showed that those who subsequently developed seizures were also three times more likely to develop dementia.

The Yale University–led team — which included Australian doctors — said, while post-stroke seizures were known to affect neurological and cognitive outcomes, published data on the association with death and disability had been inconsistent.

Their systematic review and meta-analysis of 71 studies, published in JAMA Neurology, included more than 20,000 patients with post-stroke seizures and 1.17 million without; follow-up duration ranged from hospital discharge to 26 years.