Psychiatric Comorbidities in Functional Movement Disorders: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Psychiatry
• Healthcare Research

Background:

• Functional movement disorders (FMD) involve abnormal movements without a clear structural neurological cause.
• Psychological stressors are known risk factors, but the impact of psychiatric comorbidities on FMD is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the characteristics of FMD patients with co-occurring mood and trauma-related psychiatric conditions against those without psychiatric conditions.
• To investigate differences in disease manifestation and complexity based on psychiatric comorbidity.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 551 FMD patients from 2015-2019.
• Inclusion criteria: FMD diagnosis (ICD-10) with phenomenology codes and neurology specialist encounter.
• Statistical analysis included Fisher's exact and unpaired t-tests.

Main Results:

• 75.7% of FMD patients had psychiatric conditions.
• Patients with psychiatric comorbidities showed significantly higher healthcare utilization (ER visits) and more non-epileptic seizures.
• Suicidal ideation and self-harm were exclusively observed in patients with comorbid psychiatric conditions.

Conclusions:

• FMD patients with psychiatric comorbidities require more healthcare resources and exhibit greater disease complexity.
• Findings suggest that FMD patients without psychiatric comorbidities may benefit from targeted physiotherapy alone.
• Integrated care models are crucial for managing FMD patients with co-occurring mental health conditions.