Hopelessness in persons with epilepsy: Relationship with demographic, clinical, and social variables. 2019

Roberta Ciuffini, and Paolo Stratta, and Rodolfo Rossi, and Enrico Perilli, and Alfonso Marrelli
Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Italy; Clinical Neurophysiology Unit, San Salvatore Hospital, L'Aquila, Italy. Electronic address: roberta.ciuffini@univaq.it.

Persons with epilepsy show a higher risk of suicidal ideation and behavior than the general population. Hopelessness, as a feature of demoralization, is considered an emerging risk factor for suicidal ideation. Psychopathological comorbidity, mainly depression, has to be taken into account to predict suicidal attempts but the relationship between suicidality and epilepsy has been also reported independently from depressive disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate hopelessness in a sample of persons suffering from epilepsy without comorbidity with psychiatric disorders and its association with demographic, social, and clinical variables, putatively predictive of suicidal behaviors. Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) has been used as measure of suicidal ideation in 72 consecutive outpatients afferent to a third level epilepsy center. Exclusion criterion was psychiatric comorbidity evaluated by clinical approach and quantified by Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale. Clinical (focus localization, age at onset, number of drugs), demographic, social variables, and intellectual level were considered. Age, age at onset, gender, intellectual level, socioeconomic status, duration of illness and therapy, number of drugs, seizure frequency, and localization of the epileptic focus and side involved were found associated with BHS score increase. In a sample of persons with epilepsy, without psychiatric comorbidity, our data show an association between factors related to the biological pathophysiology and the clinical course of the disease with the sociodemographic status, as a risk factor for suicidal ideation.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D011569 Psychiatric Status Rating Scales Standardized procedures utilizing rating scales or interview schedules carried out by health personnel for evaluating the degree of mental illness. Factor Construct Rating Scales (FCRS),Katz Adjustment Scales,Lorr's Inpatient Multidimensional Psychiatric Rating Scale,Wittenborn Scales,Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale,Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D003710 Demography Statistical interpretation and description of a population with reference to distribution, composition, or structure. Demographer,Demographic,Demographic and Health Survey,Population Distribution,Accounting, Demographic,Analyses, Demographic,Analyses, Multiregional,Analysis, Period,Brass Technic,Brass Technique,Demographers,Demographic Accounting,Demographic Analysis,Demographic Factor,Demographic Factors,Demographic Impact,Demographic Impacts,Demographic Survey,Demographic Surveys,Demographic and Health Surveys,Demographics,Demography, Historical,Demography, Prehistoric,Factor, Demographic,Factors, Demographic,Family Reconstitution,Historical Demography,Impact, Demographic,Impacts, Demographic,Multiregional Analysis,Period Analysis,Population Spatial Distribution,Prehistoric Demography,Reverse Survival Method,Stable Population Method,Survey, Demographic,Surveys, Demographic,Analyses, Period,Analysis, Demographic,Analysis, Multiregional,Demographic Analyses,Demographies, Historical,Demographies, Prehistoric,Distribution, Population,Distribution, Population Spatial,Distributions, Population,Distributions, Population Spatial,Family Reconstitutions,Historical Demographies,Method, Reverse Survival,Method, Stable Population,Methods, Reverse Survival,Methods, Stable Population,Multiregional Analyses,Period Analyses,Population Distributions,Population Methods, Stable,Population Spatial Distributions,Prehistoric Demographies,Reconstitution, Family,Reconstitutions, Family,Reverse Survival Methods,Spatial Distribution, Population,Spatial Distributions, Population,Stable Population Methods,Technic, Brass,Technique, Brass
D003863 Depression Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER present in neurotic and psychotic disorders. Depressive Symptoms,Emotional Depression,Depression, Emotional,Depressive Symptom,Symptom, Depressive
D004827 Epilepsy A disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of paroxysmal brain dysfunction due to a sudden, disorderly, and excessive neuronal discharge. Epilepsy classification systems are generally based upon: (1) clinical features of the seizure episodes (e.g., motor seizure), (2) etiology (e.g., post-traumatic), (3) anatomic site of seizure origin (e.g., frontal lobe seizure), (4) tendency to spread to other structures in the brain, and (5) temporal patterns (e.g., nocturnal epilepsy). (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p313) Aura,Awakening Epilepsy,Seizure Disorder,Epilepsy, Cryptogenic,Auras,Cryptogenic Epilepsies,Cryptogenic Epilepsy,Epilepsies,Epilepsies, Cryptogenic,Epilepsy, Awakening,Seizure Disorders
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000079224 Demoralization Weakening of hope, courage, or confidence.

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