Anxiety disorder as a risk factor for suicidal ideation in patients with epilepsy
Anxiety disorders are widespread among patients with epilepsy. Numerous studies on the effect of emotional and affective disorders on the risk of the formation of suicidal ideation are presented in the modern literature, but all of them focus mainly on depressive disorder. Material and Methods. We examined 102 patients with the diagnosis of epilepsy. The total sample was divided into two groups: group 1 - patients without suicidal ideation (N=73), group 2 - patients with suicidal ideation (N=29). The examination included anamnesis, clinical and neurological examinations, psychometric method using psychometric scales and questionnaires. The following symptoms were used to screen for anxiety symptoms: hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), symptomatic questionnaire SCL-90-R. In order to assess the risk of suicidal ideation, a suicide risk questionnaire was used (modification by T.N. Razuvaeva). Results. Patients with suicidal ideation were characterized by a reliably significant high value of anxiety (9.17 points on the HADS scale), which corresponded to a subclinical level of anxiety. The data obtained on the HADS scale were confirmed by the results of the SCL-90-R questionnaire in the form of an increase in the values of the indicators: anxiety - 1.22 points, somatization - 1.30 points. The presence of anxiety (r=0.7; p<0.05) was reliably associated with a risk factor for suicidal ideation (time perspective). An inverse correlation was revealed between anxiety and the anti-suicidal factor (r=-0.63; p<0.05). The presence of anxiety is a typical feature in patients with epilepsy. An increase in anxiety level elevates the risk of suicidal ideation and is justified by such indicators as demonstrativeness, affectivity and time perspective. As anxiety increases, a decrease in anti-suicidal factor is noted. Our findings generally confirm the high prevalence of anxiety symptoms in patients with epilepsy, their high comorbidity, and their effect on the occurrence of suicidal ideation.