Psychiatric comorbidity is common in people with epilepsy1-3. A meta-analysis, including 27 studies and >500,000 people with epilepsy, found that people with epilepsy were at greater risk of a range of mental disorders compared with controls2:
- Depression 2.5 times greater risk
- Anxiety 2.1 times greater risk
- Psychotic disorder 4.0 times greater risk
These psychiatric comorbidities can present in periods around seizures, or in the periods between seizures3. Childhood-onset epilepsy can be associated with a specific set of psychiatric and cognitive difficulties that can lead to poor social outcomes later in life4.
ADHD=attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder; CI=confidence interval; OCD=obsessive–compulsive disorder; PTSD=post-traumatic stress disorder
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