Citation

Hecimovic H, Santos JM, Carter J, Attarian HP, Fessler AJ, Vahle V, Gilliam F. Epilepsy Behav. 2012; 24(4): 426-429.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.05.005

PMID

22683245

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine prevalence and predictive risk factors of suicidality in a large sample of epilepsy outpatients. We prospectively examined 193 consecutive adult epilepsy outpatients for depression, including suicidal ideation. Demographic and epilepsy factors, medication toxicity and health-related quality of life were also evaluated. The prevalence of suicidal ideation within the past two weeks was 11.9%. Although medication toxicity, health-related quality of life and BDI scores were each associated with suicidal ideation in the bivariate analyses, only the BDI remained significant in the logistic regression analysis. About one-fourth of the subjects with suicidal ideation had no significant symptoms of depression. Recent thoughts of suicide are a common occurrence in the outpatient epilepsy clinic setting, but these are not predicted by gender, age, seizure factors, medication toxicity or self-perceived quality of life. Although depression is associated with suicidal ideation, about one-fourth of the suicidal subjects were euthymic or only mildly depressed.

Language: en