The psychiatric comorbidity of epilepsy.

EPILEPSY; BRAIN diseases; DEVELOPMENTAL disabilities; COMORBIDITY; EPIDEMIOLOGY; DIAGNOSIS

Gaitatzis A, Trimble MR, Sander JW. The psychiatric comorbidity of epilepsy.Acta Neurol Scand 2004 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2004.00324.x© Blackwell Munksgaard 2004.Several studies have assessed the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in epilepsy. They are characterized by considerable heterogeneity, because of differences in the population setting and type of study. A non-systematic review of the literature allows us to draw some useful, although not definite, conclusions. Six per cent of people with epilepsy in the general population appear to suffer from a psychiatric disorder, while this rises to 10–20% in populations with temporal lobe and/or refractory epilepsy. Mood disorders are the most common culprit (24–74%), particularly depression (30%), followed by anxiety disorders (10–25%), psychoses (2–7%) and personality disorders (1–2%). This comorbidity appears to be related to endogenous and exogenous (including iatrogenic) factors and to the severity and chronicity of epilepsy. Conditions such as schizophrenia-like psychosis of epilepsy and interictal dysphoric disorder are represented only in epilepsy. Adequate recognition and treatment of psychiatric conditions in epilepsy is essential for patient management because of their considerable burden in morbidity and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Neurologica Scandinavica is the property of Hindawi Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)