Is epilepsy related to psychiatric disorders in people with intellectual disability? A systematic review

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in people with intellectual disability is statistically higher than in the general population. There is a lack of consensus on the role that epilepsy plays in psychiatric disorders in people with intellectual disability. We carried out a systematic review of articles published between 1960 and 2022, focusing on high-quality, case-control original research studies that only included adult populations. The primary outcome was the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in people with intellectual disability with and without epilepsy. Six articles were finally included. Results were varied; some reported a statistical increase, whereas others did not find any statistical difference. Due to the current controversy on the role of epilepsy in psychiatric disorders in people with intellectual disability and the small number of publications on the topic, we cannot affirm a relationship between epilepsy and psychiatric disorders in people with intellectual disability.