The relationship of psychiatric comorbidities and symptoms, quality of life, and stigmatization in patients with epilepsy

• Published in: Epilepsy & behavior 2024-07, Vol.156, p.109838, Article 109838
• Main Authors: Talıbov, Tural, İnci, Meltem, Ismayılov, Rashad, Elmas, Sibel, Büyüktopçu, Emiralp, Kepenek, Ata Onur, Şirin, Görkem, Polat, Irmak, Özkan, Mine, Bebek, Nerses
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Comorbidity; Epilepsy; Epilepsy - complications; Epilepsy - epidemiology; Epilepsy - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Psychiatric comorbidity; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Social Stigma; Stigma; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1525-5050; 1525-5069; 1525-5069
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.109838

[Display omitted] •Psychiatric comorbidities were found in 24.8 % (n = 69) of epilepsy patients.•Depression (16.9 %) and generalized anxiety disorder were the most common (5.7 %).•Low quality of life increased the risk of psychiatric comorbidity by 2.6 times.•Psychiatric disease history increased the psychiatric comorbidities by 2.8 times.•High perceived stigma increased the psychiatric comorbidity risk by 1,5 times. Research around the frequency of psychiatric diseases and psychosocial consequences caused by seizures and stigmatization in patients with epilepsy is important, in terms of multidimensional evaluation of the condition, increasing quality of life, and controlling the frequency of seizures. This prospective study aimed to evaluate relationship between comorbid psychiatric diseases and clinical and sociodemographic data, patients’ quality of life and perceived stigma in patients with epilepsy. In this prospective single-center study, we evaluated clinical and demographic data, and characteristics of epilepsy. We used the Symptom Check List 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) as a screening test for psychiatric comorbidities and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) test for patients who had an SCL90-R general symptom index (GSI) score of ≥1. The frequency of psychiatric comorbidities, the association between comorbid psychiatric disorders and quality of life, and the level of stigmatization in patients with epilepsy was assessed using the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-10) and Perceived Stigma Scale. SCL90-R GSI scores of ≥1 were found in 122 of 300 patients. Psychiatric comorbidities were found in 24.8% (n = 69) of patients with epilepsy in the MINI test, major depression was found in 16.9 %, (n = 47), and generalized anxiety disorder was the most common (5.7 %, n = 16). The number of anti-seizure medications (p = 0.007), high seizure frequency (p = 0.01), seizure in previous 12 months (p = 0.003), history of epilepsy surgery (p = 0.032) and psychiatric disease (p