Original Article
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Dec 22, 2014; 4(4): 141-149
Published online Dec 22, 2014. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v4.i4.141
Factors associated with hopelessness in epileptic patients
Maurizio Pompili, Gianluca Serafini, Marco Innamorati, Franco Montebovi, Dorian A Lamis, Mariantonietta Milelli, Manuela Giuliani, Matteo Caporro, Paolo Tisei, David Lester, Mario Amore, Paolo Girardi, Carla Buttinelli
Maurizio Pompili, Marco Innamorati, Franco Montebovi, Mariantonietta Milelli, Paolo Girardi, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, 00189 Rome, Italy
Gianluca Serafini, Mario Amore, Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, 16100 Genoa, Italy
Dorian A Lamis, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, SC 29208, United States
Manuela Giuliani, Matteo Caporro, Paolo Tisei, Carla Buttinelli, Department of Neurological Science, Neurological Unit, S. Andrea Hospital, University La Sapienza, 00189 Rome, Italy
David Lester, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Galloway, NJ 08205, United States
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this manuscript.
Correspondence to: Maurizio Pompili, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, 1035-1039, Via di Grottarossa, 00189 Rome, Italy. maurizio.pompili@uniroma1.it
Telephone: +39-06-33775675 Fax: +39-06-33775342
Received: August 14, 2014
Peer-review started: August 15, 2014
First decision: September 16, 2014
Revised: October 1, 2014
Accepted: October 14, 2014
Article in press: October 16, 2014
Published online: December 22, 2014
Processing time: 130 Days and 17.7 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To investigate factors related to hopelessness in a sample of epileptic patients, including measures of depression and quality of life (QOL).

METHODS: Sixty-nine participants were administered the following psychometric instruments: Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and QOL in Epilepsy (QOLIE)-89. Patients were dichotomized into two categories: those affected by epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures vs those having epilepsy with partial seizures.

RESULTS: The groups differed on the QOLIE Role Limitation/Emotional dimension. Patients with generalized seizures reported more limitations in common social/role activities related to emotional problems than patients with other types of epilepsy (89.57 ± 25.49 vs 72.86 ± 36.38; t63 = -2.16; P < 0.05). All of the respondents reported moderate to severe depression, and 21.7% of patients with generalized seizures and 28.6% of patients with other diagnoses had BHS total scores ≥ 9 indicating a higher suicidal risk. The study did not control for years of the illness.

CONCLUSION: Patients with generalized seizures reported more limitations in common social/role activities related to emotional problems compared to patients with other types of seizures. Patients at increased suicide risk as evaluated by the BHS were older than those who had a lower suicidal risk. Future studies are required to further investigate the impact of hopelessness on the outcome of epileptic patients.

Keywords: Epilepsy; Hopelessness; Suicide risk; Emotional problems; Social/role activities

Core tip: The present study assessed factors associated with hopelessness, depression, and quality of life in a sample of 69 epileptic patients using standardized psychometric instruments. All of the participants reported moderate to severe depression, and 25% of the patients had Beck Hopelessness Scale total scores ≥ 9 indicating a higher suicidal risk. Although the study did not control for years of the illness which may limit the generalizability of findings, patients with generalized seizures experienced more limitations in common social/role activities due to emotional problems than those with other types of seizures.