Comparison of mental health in patients with chronic idiopathic generalized seizure with Control group

Background: Seizure is a prevalent neurological disorder. The number of patients diagnosed with
this condition is increasing every year. Psychiatric disorders with seizure are highly prevalent, thus
diagnosis and effective treatment seizure is great of importance in terms of its impact on the
patients' of quality life. It has been demonstrated that attempted and committed suicide occur in
seizure patients more than general population. This Study assesses the psychological profiles and
mental health state of patients with chronic seizure disorders using the Symptom Checklist-90-R
(Scl-90 R).
Materials and methods: This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 40 Patients with
chronic idiopathic seizure disorder and 40 control participants from seizure clinics of Isfahan
University of Medical Sciences in 2004. Scl-90-R was used to evaluate the subjects' psychological
symptoms.
Results: Eighty-two percent of the subjects were male and 18% were female (mean age: 28.1
years). The average scores of the case and the control groups were 1.65 versus 0.83 in
somatization, 1.79 versus 1.39 in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, 1.61 versus 1.24 in interpersonal
sensitivity, 2.01 versus 1.56 in depression and 1.82 versus 1.24 in anxiety respectively. The
difference between two groups were significant is all domains (P<0.05). The total score for
psychopathology was 16.43 in the case group versus 12.21 in the control group, which also shows a
significant difference between the cases and controls.
Discussion: This study demonstrated the undesirable mental health state of patients with chronic
seizure disorder compared to controls, particularly in depression, anxiety, obsession-compulsion,
somatization and interpersonal sensitivity domains.