Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation and Attempts in Patients With Epilepsy

Background: Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent chronic neurologic diseases in population. One of the most common disorders in patients with seizure disorders is a psychiatric disease, such as depression, which is most commonly under diagnosed or treated. Objectives: The presence of the psychiatric disease and consumption of antiseizure medications are believed to be an underlying cause of suicides. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of suicide attempts in patients with epilepsy referred to Iranian seizure organization and neurology clinic of Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 200 patients with epilepsy were enrolled in this study and were interviewed. They were asked to fill the prepared questionnaire, which contained clinical variables and 4 specific questions regarding suicidal behaviors related to the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Results: The mean age of the participants was 34 ± 10.6 years. Ninety-one patients (45.5%) were male and 109 (54.5%) were female. Regarding the presence of psychiatric disorders; 25% had a history of depression, 3% bipolar disorders, 1% schizophrenia, 4% personality disorders and 65.5% had no psychiatric disorders. Conclusions: The results of the present study show a high prevalence of suicide attempt among patients with epilepsy and these patients should be considered as a high-risk population regarding the suicide attempt and should be thoroughly evaluated regarding psychiatric disorders and suicidal ideation.