People with severe mental illness 12 times more likely to commit suicide
07 December 2010
A study from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), at King’s, indicates that people with epilepsy and Intellectual Disability (ID) demonstrate significantly lower rates of mental health problems, including schizophrenia spectrum, personality and anxiety disorders. This contradicts the belief that depression is most commonly seen in people with epilepsy.
The research, led by Dr Elias Tsakanikos, considers that this could be due to the calming, mood-stabilising anti-epilepsy medication. The findings come after an investigation into the possibility of co-morbid psychopathology amongst adults referred to ID specialist services. Epilepsy is the second most common co-morbid condition.
Several reasons have been suggested for the co-morbidity of the two disorders. The stress and uncertainty of having epileptic episodes, the stigma associated, as well as the potential brain damage caused by prolonged seizures and the effect of anti-epileptic medication could all be considered as contributing factors to this co-morbidity.
The sample consisted of a group of 158 with ID and epilepsy co-morbidity and a control group of 596 with just ID; The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-criteria) were applied for coding the level of ID and psychiatric diagnoses. Patients with epilepsy in this study have been receiving anticonvulsant medication for at least two years prior to the mental health assessment.
Dr Elias Tsakanikos, Senior Research Fellow at the Health Service and Population Research (HSPR) Department at the IoP, said: “Anticonvulsants are increasingly being used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, since many seem to act as mood stabilisers. Anticonvulsant medication has also been shown to be effective in treating non-epileptic disorders like anxiety and schizophrenia. Our study shows that medium to long-term use of anticonvulsants may protect against mental health problems.”
Dr Jane McCarthy, Research and Development Director at the Estia Centre, HSPR Department, IoP said: “This is a very important finding in recognising the impact of clinical practice on the individual well-being of a group patients who are recognised nationally to have poorer health outcomes. The research at the Estia Centre continues to focus on ensuring services effectively meet the mental health needs of people with learning disabilities.”
‘Epilepsy and intellectual disability: does epilepsy increase the likelihood of co-morbid psychopathology?’ is published in this month’s Research in Developmental Disabilities, to read the paper in full, please follow the link .
For more information on the Estia Centre, please follow the link .