Psychological Symptoms and Clinical Indicators in Patients With and Without Sleepiness Suffering From Epileptic and Non-Epileptic Seizures

Abstract

Background: Sleep and seizures can affect each other in different ways. Meanwhile, sleep disorders are among the most frequent complaints of patients with epileptic and non-epileptic seizures, with various health outcomes. Objective This study aimed to investigate the psychological symptoms and clinical indicators in patients with/without sleepiness with epileptic/non-epileptic seizures. Methods: The present study was a fundamental and descriptive (causal-comparative) research. The study population included all patients with epileptic seizures (temporal and generalized) and non-epileptic psychogenic seizures in Shiraz City, Iran. A total of 68 patients (in two groups with sleepiness and without sleepiness) were selected by the purposive sampling method. The study data were collected using the clinical and demographic inventory, Stanford sleepiness scale, Beck depression and anxiety inventory, perceived stress, mood disorder, bipolar spectrum diagnostic scale, global assessment of the severity of epilepsy, and global assessment of disability-related directly to seizures. The obtained data were analyzed by univariate analysis of covariance, Fisher exact test, and Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Analyses showed that patients with seizures who had sleepiness reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress than patients without sleepiness (P<0.05). Also, patients with sleepiness suffer more than their counterparts from the symptoms of bipolar disorder I and II and assess the severity of disease and disability resulting from seizures as worse (P<0.05). Conclusion: Sleepiness in patients with epileptic and non-epileptic seizures is associated with increased psychological symptoms and disease severity.