Epilepsy and Psychiatric Comorbidities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25752/psi.6722Keywords:
Epilepsy, Psychopathology, Comorbidity.Abstract
Introduction: Epilepsy is a prevalent chronic neurological disease. Due to biologic, psychological and social factors, epileptic patients have higher susceptibility to develop psychiatric comorbidities.
Objectives: Critical review of the association between epilepsy and psychiatric pathology, in order to provide the means for a conscious and informed clinical approach.
Methods: The included articles were selected through the Pubmed database with the query “((“Epilepsy”[Mesh]) AND “Mental Disorders”[Mesh]) AND “Comorbidity”[Mesh]”. Additionally were consulted official reports of International League Against Epilepsy and World Health Organization.
Results and Conclusions: Between 15% and 70% of patients with epilepsy have psychiatric pathology, which can be classified in peri-ictal or inter-ictal. Depression is the most frequent pathology, with a prevalence up to 70%, followed by anxiety. The relationship between epilepsy and psychosis may be due to the common etiologic role of underlying brain pathology. Non-epileptic psychogenic seizures are a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge because they have a similar clinical presentation as epileptic seizures, but without the correspondent electrophysiological changes. They may occur in people with or without epilepsy. Despite their heterogeneity, different studies in this area globally evidence an increased prevalence of psychiatric pathology in patients with epilepsy. The nature of the relation between these pathologies is not unequivocal revealing the lack of knowledge in this area. The present work reinforces the need of a multidisciplinary intervention of neurology, psychiatric and psychology in patients with concomitant epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidities.
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