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The Relationship Between Epilepsy and Anxiety Disorders
Coraline Hingray1,2, Aileen McGonigal3,4, Iliana Kotwas5
1Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes du Grand Nancy Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, 54521, Laxou, France.
Current Psychiatry Reports
|May 1, 2019
Summary
This review details anxiety symptoms and disorders in adults with epilepsy, covering diagnosis, the anxiety-epilepsy link, screening, and management strategies to improve patient quality of life.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Anxiety symptoms and disorders (AD) are common comorbidities in adults with epilepsy (PWE).
- Understanding the interplay between anxiety and epilepsy is crucial for comprehensive patient care.
- Peri-ictal anxiety symptoms (preictal, ictal, postictal) and interictal AD require distinct diagnostic and management approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of anxiety symptoms and AD in adult patients with epilepsy.
- To describe the diagnostic criteria, pathophysiological links, screening methods, and management strategies for anxiety in PWE.
- To emphasize the importance of managing anxiety comorbidities for improving the quality of life in PWE.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on anxiety symptoms and disorders in adult patients with epilepsy.
- Classification of anxiety symptoms based on temporal relation to seizures (peri-ictal).
- Description of specific anxiety disorders in PWE and their pathophysiological underpinnings.
Main Results:
- Anxiety symptoms can be preictal, ictal, or postictal, while AD are typically interictal.
- Specific AD in PWE include anticipatory anxiety of epileptic seizures, seizure phobia, epileptic social phobia, and epileptic panic disorder.
- A bidirectional relationship exists between anxiety and epilepsy, with anxiety potentially triggering seizures and vice versa.
Conclusions:
- Effective management of epilepsy requires addressing anxiety symptoms and AD comorbidities.
- Pharmacological and psychobehavioral interventions, tailored to symptom type (arousal-based or anxiety-based), are essential.
- Further research is needed to develop evidence-based approaches for anxiety management in PWE to enhance overall care and quality of life.
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