Low Serum Folate Levels as a Risk Factor for Depressive Mood in Patients With Chronic Epilepsy

This study takes into consideration whether low serum folate levels may contribute to depressive mood in patients with chronic epilepsy. The serum folate levels and the score on the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were examined in 46 patients with chronic epilepsy. Patients with a score indicatin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2003, Vol.15 (1), p.64-66
Main Authors: Rösche, Johannes, Uhlmann, Carmen, Fröscher, Walter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic Disease
Depression - blood
Depression - diagnosis
Depression - psychology
Epilepsy - blood
Epilepsy - diagnosis
Epilepsy - psychology
Female
Folic Acid - blood
Folic Acid Deficiency - blood
Folic Acid Deficiency - diagnosis
Folic Acid Deficiency - psychology
Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Personality Inventory
Risk Factors
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Summary:This study takes into consideration whether low serum folate levels may contribute to depressive mood in patients with chronic epilepsy. The serum folate levels and the score on the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were examined in 46 patients with chronic epilepsy. Patients with a score indicating at least minor depression on the SDS had a significantly lower serum folate level than patients with a normal score on SDS. There was a significant negative correlation between the serum folate levels and the SDS score. A serum folate level below 7.5 ng ml was significantly associated with a pathological score on SDS. Because a serum folate level of 7.5 ng ml is in the normal range for many laboratories, further studies using total plasma homocysteine as a sensitive measure of functional folate deficiency are required to elucidate the impact of folate metabolism on depressive mood in patients with chronic epilepsy.
ISSN:0895-0172
1545-7222
DOI:10.1176/jnp.15.1.64