A Follow-up Study of Late-onset Epilepsy--II. Psychiatric and Social Findings

Depression in Patients With Epilepsy

“…In the present study 43 patients (65.2%) l1a.d a past history of depression, a figure similar to the 61% of patients with previous depressive illnesses in the series of Dominian et al (1963). Moreover, those patients with a previous depressive episode in the present study had significantly higher depressive scores on 2 rating scales.…”

“…The results of both studies are in contrast to those of Dominian et al (1963), who reported that depression was the most common psychiatric problem of late onset epilepsy, although in that study, the depression was clinically evaluated and described. Mignone et al (1970), using the r®I?I, found the depression scores of their epileptic population were higher for late onset fits of whatever kind.…”

“…Rodin et al (1976) Several clinical investigations have also noted high incidence of affective disturbances in patients with epilepsy. Dominian et al (1963) reported depression to be the most common psychiatric symptom occurring in patients with late onset epilepsy, being found in a total of 13 out of 51 patients (25%). Moreover they found that 8 of the 13 depressives (61%) showed a premorbid affective disturbance of depression.…”

Depression in Epilepsy: A Common but Often Unrecognized Comorbid Malady

“…That year, Dominian et al (11) reported that 16% of 51 hospital-based patients with late-onset epilepsy had a history of depression preceding the initial seizure. In 1990, in a Swedish population-based epidemiological study, Forsgren and Nystrom (12) reported a history of depression preceding a first unprovoked seizure seven times more frequently among patients than among controls.…”

Depression and Mania in Patients with Epilepsy

“…The first study indicating a high frequency of depressive disorders before the onset of epilepsy was published in 1963 (25). In a university hospital-based series with 51 patients with adult-onset epilepsy, 16% had a history of depression before onset of epilepsy.…”