The authors wrote, “Persons with epilepsy (PwE) have a higher risk of developing psychiatric comorbidities compared with the general population. There is limited knowledge about the prevalence of multiple psychiatric conditions in PwE.”
The study’s objective was to gain more insight into the impact of these comorbidities in PwE. The researchers used data from the Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases, including studies from January 1945 to June 2023. The studies were chosen based on predefined criteria, and multiple reviewers extracted data independently to ensure accuracy. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the International League Against Epilepsy tool were used to evaluate the risk of bias in the studies.
The researchers gathered and reviewed 12,841 records from the systematic database search, and 15 studies met the eligibility criteria. The results revealed that PwE had a significantly higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities compared with those without epilepsy. For example, the pooled prevalence of concomitant depression and anxiety disorder in PwE was 9.2%, compared with a rate of 2.4% in those without epilepsy. Moreover, specific psychiatric conditions, such as depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), were more prevalent in PwE.
In hospital-based studies, the prevalence of concomitant depression and ADHD in the PwE cohort was 14.4%, compared with 3.9% in those without epilepsy. The findings were consistent across different study settings (population-based and hospital-based), indicating a strong correlation between epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidities.
Based on their findings, the authors noted that PwE experience augmented rates of multipsychiatric comorbidity compared with those without epilepsy; however, very few studies have empirically assessed the degree of multipsychiatric comorbidity in PwE compared with persons without epilepsy nor their relationships or impact on prognosis in PwE.
The authors wrote, “It is worth mentioning that the results of this systematic review should be interpreted cautiously as the number of available studies comparing multipsychiatric comorbidities in PwE with persons without epilepsy is limited. Owing to the lack of data, none of the included studies reported comorbidities between psychoses and other psychiatric disorders.”
The study concluded that PwE experience significantly higher levels of multipsychiatric comorbidity compared to those without epilepsy. The authors noted that the findings highlighted the need for comprehensive mental health care in managing epilepsy, as addressing psychiatric comorbidities could improve overall outcomes for PwE, including management of conditions and monitoring medication use, providing patient education, and identifying and addressing modifiable risk factors and enhancing access to healthcare and collaborative efforts between providers.
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