Prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in temporal lobe epilepsy in a Southern Brazilian population

Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2011 Apr;69(2A):159-65. doi: 10.1590/s0004-282x2011000200003.

Abstract

A great prevalence of psychiatric disorders in epilepsy is well demonstrated, although most studies have used unstructured psychiatric interviews for diagnosis. Here we present a study evaluating the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in a cohort of Southern Brazilian patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) using a structured clinical interview. We analyzed 166 patients with TLE regarding neuropsychiatric symptoms through the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. One hundred-six patients (63.9%) presented psychiatric comorbidities. Mood disorders were observed in 80 patients (48.2%), anxiety disorders in 51 patients (30.7%), psychotic disorders in 14 (8.4%), and substance abuse in 8 patients (4.8%) respectively. Our results agree with literature data where most authors detected mental disorders in 10 to 60% of epileptic patients. This wide variation is probably attributable to different patient groups investigated and to the great variety of diagnostic methods. Structured psychiatric interviews might contribute to a better evaluation of prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in TLE.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis
  • Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Cohort Studies
  • Comorbidity
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / epidemiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mood Disorders / diagnosis
  • Mood Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Prevalence
  • Substance-Related Disorders / diagnosis
  • Substance-Related Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Young Adult