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We have noticed an increasing trend towards epidemiological studies analyzing big data from health registers or insurance companies. The study groups report linkages between epilepsy, its treatment, and comorbidities, i.e. that epilepsy is related to dementia, that antiseizure medication is related to dementia, that mortality rates in epilepsy are rising, or that intrauterine exposure to folate or antiseizure medication are connected to later cancer or psychiatric illness [1–6]. Unfortunately, the media coverage of these often excellently published studies with simple, catchy headlines tempts readers and the public to interpret the results in terms of a causal relationship, i.e.