Higher Personality Disorder Rates in Adults with Epilepsy

Source: Journal of neurology

Summary

This study focused on adults with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), a type of epilepsy that can cause seizures without a clear cause. Researchers looked at how IGE relates to personality disorders (PD), other psychiatric symptoms, and social outcomes. The study included 286 IGE patients from an epilepsy clinic and compared them to a larger group of nearly 8,000 IGE patients and over 78,000 matched individuals without epilepsy from Danish health records.

The findings showed that adults with IGE are more likely to have symptoms of personality disorders compared to those without epilepsy. Specifically, IGE patients with more than one type of seizure reported higher levels of PD symptoms. These symptoms were linked to poorer social outcomes, such as lower family income and more hospital visits for epilepsy. Additionally, IGE patients had a higher risk of being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and faced more challenges in employment and legal issues.

Understanding these connections is important because it highlights the additional struggles that people with IGE may face beyond their seizures. However, the study has limitations, such as being based on self-reported data and specific to a Danish population, which may not represent all individuals with epilepsy. This research can help inform better support and treatment strategies for those affected by both epilepsy and personality disorders.

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