July 4, 2007 (Insidermedicine) People with epilepsy are three times more likely to commit suicide than the general population, say researchers in a report published in The Lancet Neurology. 

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which nerve cells in the brain behave abnormally. It can cause unusual sensations, emotions, and behavior, or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness. Anything that disturbs the normal pattern of activity in the brain - from illness to brain damage to abnormal brain development - can lead to seizures.  

There are approximately 1.6 million Americans with epilepsy - roughly 0.6% of the population - and diagnosis is based on a patient having two or more seizure episodes. It is often well controlled with medication, however approximately about one-third of patients may still experience seizures. 

In the present study, researchers studied more than 21,000 suicide cases and twice as many cases of people who had died from natural causes over a 16-year period. 

They found that more than 2% of the suicide cases had epilepsy, compared with less than 1% of the controls, which corresponds to a three times higher risk for people with epilepsy. After accounting for people with psychiatric problems and other risk factors for suicide, the risk of committing suicide was twice as high for those with epilepsy. People with both epilepsy and psychiatric problems were nearly 14 times more likely to commit suicide compared with healthy people. 

It was also found that those who had been diagnosed with epilepsy less than six months ago were more than five times more likely to commit suicide, while those diagnosed less than six months ago and with psychiatric problems were 29 times more likely to take their own lives. Finally, they found that women with epilepsy were at greater risk of suicide than men. 

The study identifies people newly diagnosed with epilepsy as an especially vulnerable group that requires special attention. Early intervention and effective treatments may contribute to fewer deaths from epilepsy-related suicides. 

Reporting for Insidermedicine, I’m Dr. Susan Sharma.