NEW ORLEANS — Suicide attempt is associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of developing a first unprovoked seizure in adults and children older than 3 years, Dale Hesdorffer, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society.
Major depression is associated with almost a doubling in the risk of first unprovoked seizure, she said.
“There's clearly an underlying susceptibility for all these problems,” said Dr. Hesdorffer of Columbia University, New York City.
“This has been shown in several studies, but we don't know what it could be. It's completely undetermined at this point.”
Dr. Hesdorffer presented the results of an Icelandic population-based case-control study that compared the rates of depression and suicide attempt and the number of depressive symptoms in subjects with and without a first unprovoked seizure. The study included 387 cases and 773 controls. Major depression prior to the onset of seizure occurred in 11% of cases and 6% of controls.
Among the cases, 6% had made a suicide attempt, compared with only 2% of controls. The association remained significant even after controlling for age, gender, number of depressive symptoms, and alcohol intake.