Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Suicidality in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Focal Epilepsy
Andrés M. Kanner, A. Saporta, Dong Kim, John J. Barry, Hamada Altalib, Hope Omotola, Nathalie Jetté, Terence J. O’Brien, Siddhartha Nadkarni, Melodie R. Winawer, Michael R. Sperling, Jacqueline A. French, Bassel Abou‐Khalil, Brian K. Alldredge, Martina Bebin, Gregory D. Cascino, Andrew J. Cole, Mark Cook, Kamil Detyniecki, Orrin Devinsky, Dennis Dlugos, Edward Faught, David M. Ficker, Madeline Fields, Barry E. Gidal, Michael Gelfand, Simon Glynn, Jonathan J. Halford, Sheryl R. Haut, Manu Hegde, Manisha Holmes, Reetta Kälviäinen, Joon Won Kang, Pavel Klein, Robert C. Knowlton, Kaarkuzhali Babu Krishnamurthy, Ruben Kuzniecky, Patrick Kwan, Daniel H. Lowenstein, Lara Marcuse, Kimford J. Meador, Scott Mintzer, Heath Pardoe, Kristen Park, Patricia Penovich, Rani K. Singh, Ernest Somerville, C. Ákos Szabó, Jerzy P. Szaflarski, Liu Lin Thio, Eugen Trinka, Jorge G. Burneo, and the Human Epilepsy Project
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mood, anxiety disorders, and suicidality are more frequent in people with epilepsy than in the general population. Yet, their prevalence and the types of mood and anxiety disorders associated with suicidality at the time of the epilepsy diagnosis are not established. We sought to answer these questions in patients with newly diagnosed focal epilepsy and to assess their association with suicidal ideation and attempts. METHODS: statistics, and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: A total of 151 (43.5%) patients had a psychiatric diagnosis; 134 (38.6%) met the criteria for a mood and/or anxiety disorder, and 75 (21.6%) reported suicidal ideation with or without attempts. Mood (23.6%) and anxiety (27.4%) disorders had comparable prevalence rates, whereas both disorders occurred together in 43 patients (12.4%). Major depressive disorders (MDDs) had a slightly higher prevalence than bipolar disorders (BPDs) (9.5% vs 6.9%, respectively). Explanatory variables of suicidality included MDD, BPD, panic disorders, and agoraphobia, with BPD and panic disorders being the strongest variables, particularly for active suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. DISCUSSION: In patients with newly diagnosed focal epilepsy, the prevalence of mood, anxiety disorders, and suicidality is higher than in the general population and comparable to those of patients with established epilepsy. Their recognition at the time of the initial epilepsy evaluation is of the essence.