Risks of suicidality in adult patients with epilepsy

To determine the prevalence and risks of suicidality in a group of patients with epilepsy.

Included were 200 adult patients and 100 matched healthy subjects. The clinical interview using The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition), Beck Depression Inventory (2nd edition) (BDI-II), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Rating Scale testings were used for diagnosis and assessment of severity of psychiatric symptoms. Blood concentrations of serotonin, catecholamines and dopamine were also measured.

Suicidality was reported in 35% (compared to 9% for controls), of them 80%, 72.86%, 55.71% and 52.9% had depression, anxiety, obsession and aggression respectively. Patients with suicidality had higher scores of BDI-II (P = 0.0001), HAM-A (P = 0.0001), and Y-BOCS (P = 0.037) and lower scores of psychotic (P = 0.0001) and extroversion (P = 0.025) personality traits. Regardless the presence or absence of suicidality, patients with epilepsy had low serotonin (P = 0.006), noradrenaline (P = 0.019) and adrenaline (P = 0.0001) levels. With suicidality, significant correlations were identified between: (1) age and scores of BDI-II (r = 0.235, P = 0.0001) and HAM-A (r = 0.241, P = 0.046); (2) age at onset and concentrations of noradrenaline (r = -0.502, P = 0.024); (3) duration of illness and scores of BDI-II (r = 0.247, P = 0.041), Y-BOCS (r = 0.270, P = 0.025) and neurotic personality trait (r = -0.284, P = 0.018); and (4) doses of antiepileptic drugs and scores of psychotic personality traits (r = -0.495, P = 0.006 for carbamazepine; r = -0.508, P = 0.0001 for valproate).

This is the first study which systematically estimated the prevalence and risks of suicidality in a homogenous group of patients with epilepsy. This study emphasizes the importance of epilepsy itself as a risk for suicidality and not its treatment.