The associations between epilepsy and depressive illness in secondary care

AbstractBackground: The association between epilepsy and depressive illness has long been established. However, though various explanations—psychosocial and anatomical—have been proposed findings from studies are inconsistent and often contradictory. Aims: This study aimed to compare the features of those people with epilepsy seen in a secondary care setting who developed a depressive illness with those that did not.Method: Information regarding the patient’s epilepsy, history and presence of depressive illness and perceived social functioning was gathered from case notes, questionnaire and patient interview.Results: The experience of a depressive episode was associated with the presence of a right-sided lesion, attacks occurring more than once each month, diagnosis made in adulthood and a perceived marked effect of the epilepsy on mobility and social activity.Conclusion: These findings are not all consistent with work already carried out in this field. However, they do point to a multifactorial aetiology of depressive illness in this group as is the case in the general population. Possible explanations for frequently contradictory findings are discussed