Education in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures

The aim of this study was to investigate any possible association between education and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and any potential effects education might have on clinical characteristics of patients with PNES.

In this retrospective study, all patients with PNES, who were studied at Shiraz Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, from 2008 until 2018, were recruited. We categorized the patients as 1. Less than 6 years of education; 2. With some college education.

Sixty-two patients (19%) had some college education and 38 patients (12%) had less than 6 years of education [22 patients (6.8%) were illiterate]. Age at onset of PNES was earlier in those with some college education (p = 0.0001) and they more often reported a history of sexual abuse (p = 0.02). Other demographic variables, seizure-related variables, PNES associated factors, and use of antiepileptic drugs were not significantly associated with education in the patients (all p values were > 0.05).

It seems that the level of education has no significant effects on the clinical picture of PNES (other than its association with age at onset and history of sex abuse). While the above observations are important, they should be investigated in cross-cultural comparisons in future studies to depict a full picture of PNES related factors across borders and cultures.