Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T19:39:54.310Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Comorbidity between neurological illness and psychiatric disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2016

Dale C. Hesdorffer*
Affiliation:
Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Dale C. Hesdorffer, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, P&S Unit 16, New York, NY 10024, USA. (Email: dch5@cumc.columbia.edu)

Abstract

Psychiatric disorders are common in many neurological disorders, including epilepsy, migraine, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and stroke. These comorbidities increase disease burden and may complicate the treatment of the combined disorders. Initial studies of the comorbidity of psychiatric and neurological disorders were cross-sectional, and time order of the associations was impossible to elucidate. More recent work has clarified time associations between psychiatric disorders and neurological disorders, particularly in epilepsy and stroke where epidemiological evidence suggests that there is a bidirectional relationship. This article takes an epidemiological approach to understanding these relationships and focuses mostly on epilepsy. Although, these relationships are understood in many neurological disorders, routine screening for psychiatric disorders in neurological disorders is infrequent, mostly due to the lack of partnerships between psychiatrists and neurologists and the paucity of neuropsychiatrists. Much more needs to be done to improve the detection and treatment of patients affected by neurological and psychiatric disorders. Understanding the scope of this overlap may inspire collaborations to improve the lives of people affected by both disorders.

Type
Review Articles
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Graham, P, Rutter, M. Organic brain dysfunction and child psychiatric disorder. Br Med J. 1968; 3(5620): 695700.Google Scholar
2. Carlton-Ford, S, Miller, R, Brown, M, Nealeigh, N, Jennings, P. Epilepsy and children’s social and psychological adjustment. J Health Soc Behav. 1995; 36(3): 285301.Google Scholar
3. McDermott, S, Coker, AL, Mani, S, et al. A population-based analysis of behavior problems in children with cerebral palsy. J Pediatr Psychol. 1996; 21(3): 447463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Davies, S, Heyman, I, Goodman, R. A population survey of mental health problems in children with epilepsy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2003; 45(5): 292295.Google Scholar
5. Jacoby, A, Baker, GA, Steen, N, Potts, P, Chadwick, DW. The clinical course of epilepsy and its psychosocial correlates: findings from a U.K. community study. Epilepsia. 1996; 37(2): 148161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Tellez-Zenteno, JF, Patten, SB, Jette, N, Williams, J, Wiebe, S. Psychiatric comorbidity in epilepsy: a population-based analysis. Epilepsia. 2007; 48(12): 23362344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. Ottman, R, Lipton, RB, Ettinger, AB, et al. Comorbidities of epilepsy: results from the Epilepsy Comorbidities and Health (EPIC) survey. Epilepsia. 2011; 52(2): 308315.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Kobau, R, Gilliam, F, Thurman, DJ. Prevalence of self-reported epilepsy or seizure disorder and its associations with self-reported depression and anxiety: results from the 2004 HealthStyles Survey. Epilepsia. 2006; 47(11): 19151921.Google Scholar
9. Slater, E, Beard, AW, Glithero, E. The schizophrenia-like psychoses of epilepsy. Br J Psychiatry. 1963; 109(458): 95150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Hauser, WA, Annegers, JF, Kurland, LT. Incidence of epilepsy and unprovoked seizures in Rochester, Minnesota: 1935–1984. Epilepsia. 1993; 34(3): 453468.Google Scholar
11. Suvisaari, JM, Haukka, JK, Tanskanen, AJ, Lonnqvist, JK. Decline in the incidence of schizophrenia in Finnish cohorts born from 1954 to 1965. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999; 56(8): 733740.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. Flor-Henry, P. Psychosis and temporal lobe epilepsy: a controlled investigation. Epilepsia. 1969; 10(3): 363395.Google Scholar
13. Gaitatzis, A, Carroll, K, Majeed, A, Sander, JW. The epidemiology of the comorbidity of epilepsy in the general population. Epilepsia. 2004; 45(12): 16131622.Google Scholar
14. Bredkjaer, SR, Mortensen, PB, Parnas, J. Epilepsy and non-organic non-affective psychosis. National epidemiologic study. Br J Psychiatry. 1998; 172(3): 235238.Google Scholar
15. Forsgren, L, Hauser, WA, Olafsson, E, Sander, JW, Sillanpaa, M, Tomson, T. Mortality of epilepsy in developed countries: a review. Epilepsia. 2005; 46(Suppl 11): 1827.Google Scholar
16. Hauser, WA, Rich, SS, Lee, JR, Annegers, JF, Anderson, VE. Risk of recurrent seizures after two unprovoked seizures. N Engl J Med. 1998; 338(7): 429434.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Laursen, TM, Munk-Olsen, T, Nordentoft, M, Mortensen, PB. Increased mortality among patients admitted with major psychiatric disorders: a register-based study comparing mortality in unipolar depressive disorder, bipolar affective disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia. J Clin Psychiatry. 2007; 68(6): 899907.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Austin, JK, Harezlak, J, Dunn, DW, Huster, GA, Rose, DF, Ambrosius, WT. Behavior problems in children before first recognized seizures. Pediatrics. 2001; 107(1): 115122.Google Scholar
19. Hermann, B, Jones, J, Dabbs, K, et al. The frequency, complications and aetiology of ADHD in new onset paediatric epilepsy. Brain. 2007; 130(12): 31353148.Google Scholar
20. Hesdorffer, DC, Ludvigsson, P, Olafsson, E, Gudmundsson, G, Kjartansson, O, Hauser, WA. ADHD as a risk factor for incident unprovoked seizures and epilepsy in children. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004; 61(7): 731736.Google Scholar
21. Forsgren, L, Nystrom, L. An incident case-referent study of epileptic seizures in adults. Epilepsy Res. 1990; 6(1): 6681.Google Scholar
22. Hesdorffer, DC, Hauser, WA, Annegers, JF, Cascino, G. Major depression is a risk factor for seizures in older adults. Ann Neurol. 2000; 47(2): 246249.Google Scholar
23. Hesdorffer, DC, Hauser, WA, Olafsson, E, Ludvigsson, P, Kjartansson, O. Depression and suicide attempt as risk factors for incident unprovoked seizures. Ann Neurol. 2006; 59(1): 3541.Google Scholar
24. Adelow, C, Andersson, T, Ahlbom, A, Tomson, T. Hospitalization for psychiatric disorders before and after onset of unprovoked seizures/epilepsy. Neurology. 2012; 78(6): 396401.Google Scholar
25. Hesdorffer, DC, Ishihara-Paul, L, Mynepalli, L, Webb, DJ, Weil, J, Hauser, WA. Epilepsy and psychiatric disorders: evidence for a bidirectional relationship. Epilepsia. 2009; 50(Suppl 11): 220221.Google Scholar
26. Lieberman, JA, Fenton, WS. Delayed detection of psychosis: causes, consequences, and effect on public health. Am J Psychiatry. 2000; 157(11): 17271730.Google Scholar
27. Chang, YT, Chen, PC, Tsai, IJ, et al. Bidirectional relation between schizophrenia and epilepsy: a population-based retrospective cohort study. Epilepsia; 52(11): 20362042.Google Scholar
28. Wotton, CJ, Goldacre, MJ. Coexistence of schizophrenia and epilepsy: record-linkage studies. Epilepsia. 2012; 53(4): e71e74.Google Scholar
29. Qin, P, Xu, H, Laursen, TM, Vestergaard, M, Mortensen, PB. Risk for schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychosis among patients with epilepsy: population based cohort study. BMJ. 2005; 331(7507): 23.Google Scholar
30. Kessler, RC, Borges, G, Walters, EE. Prevalence of and risk factors for lifetime suicide attempts in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999; 56(7): 617626.Google Scholar
31. Rafnsson, V, Olafsson, E, Hauser, WA, Gudmundsson, G. Cause-specific mortality in adults with unprovoked seizures: a population-based incidence cohort study. Neuroepidemiology. 2001; 20(4): 232236.Google Scholar
32. Christensen, J, Vestergaard, M, Mortensen, PB, Sidenius, P, Agerbo, E. Epilepsy and risk of suicide: a population-based case-control study. Lancet Neurol. 2007; 6(8): 693698.Google Scholar
33. Nilsson, L, Tomson, T, Farahmand, BY, Diwan, V, Persson, PG. Cause-specific mortality in epilepsy: a cohort study of more than 9,000 patients once hospitalized for epilepsy. Epilepsia. 1997; 38(10): 10621068.Google Scholar
34. Geerlings, MI, Bouter, LM, Schoevers, RA, et al. Depression and risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease: results of two prospective community-based studies in The Netherlands. Br J Psychiatry. 2000; 176(6): 568575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35. Chen, P, Ganguli, M, Mulsant, BH, DeKosky, ST. The temporal relationship between depressive symptoms and dementia: a community-based prospective study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999; 56(3): 261266.Google Scholar
36. Murray, PS, Kumar, S, Demichele-Sweet, MA, Sweet, RA. Psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease. Biol Psychiatry. 2014; 75(7): 542552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37. Barak, Y, Aizenberg, D. Suicide amongst Alzheimer’s disease patients: a 10-year survey. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2002; 14(2): 101103.Google Scholar
38. Schuurman, AG, van den Akker, M, Ensinck, KT, et al. Increased risk of Parkinson’s disease after depression: a retrospective cohort study. Neurology. 2002; 58(10): 15011504.Google Scholar
39. Brashear, A, Cook, JF, Hill, DF, et al. Psychiatric disorders in rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism. Neurology. 2012; 79(11): 11681173.Google Scholar
40. Dong, JY, Zhang, YH, Tong, J, Qin, LQ. Depression and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Stroke. 2012; 43(1): 3237.Google Scholar
41. Pan, A, Sun, Q, Okereke, OI, Rexrode, KM, Hu, FB. Depression and risk of stroke morbidity and mortality: a meta-analysis and systematic review. JAMA. 2011; 306(11): 12411249.Google Scholar
42. Pratt, LA, Ford, DE, Crum, RM, Armenian, HK, Gallo, JJ, Eaton, WW. Depression, psychotropic medication, and risk of myocardial infarction: prospective data from the Baltimore ECA follow-up. Circulation. 1996; 94(12): 31233129.Google Scholar
43. Eaton, WW, Armenian, H, Gallo, J, Pratt, L, Ford, DE. Depression and risk for onset of type II diabetes: a prospective population-based study. Diabetes Care. 1996; 19(10): 10971102.Google Scholar
44. Whyte, EM, Mulsant, BH. Post stroke depression: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and biological treatment. Biol Psychiatry. 2002; 52(3): 253264.Google Scholar
45. Kisely, S, Campbell, LA, Wang, Y. Treatment of ischaemic heart disease and stroke in individuals with psychosis under universal healthcare. Br J Psychiatry. 2009; 195(6): 545550.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
46. Eriksson, M, Glader, EL, Norrving, B, Asplund, K. Poststroke suicide attempts and completed suicides: a socioeconomic and nationwide perspective. Neurology. 2015; 84(17): 17321738.Google Scholar
47. Teasdale, TW, Engberg, AW. Suicide after a stroke: a population study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2001; 55(12): 863866.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
48. Louis, ED, Benito-Leon, J, Bermejo-Pareja, F, Neurological Disorders in Central Spain Study G. Self-reported depression and anti-depressant medication use in essential tremor: cross-sectional and prospective analyses in a population-based study. Eur J Neurol. 2007; 14(10): 11381146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
49. Breslau, N, Davis, GC, Schultz, LR, Peterson, EL. Joint 1994 Wolff Award Presentation. Migraine and major depression: a longitudinal study. Headache. 1994; 34(7): 387393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
50. Breslau, N, Davis, GC, Andreski, P. Migraine, psychiatric disorders, and suicide attempts: an epidemiologic study of young adults. Psychiatry Res. 1991; 37(1): 1123.Google Scholar
51. Alper, K, Schwartz, KA, Kolts, RL, Khan, A. Seizure incidence in psychopharmacological clinical trials: an analysis of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) summary basis of approval reports. Biol Psychiatry. 2007; 62(4): 345354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
52. Sachdev, P. Schizophrenia-like psychosis and epilepsy: the status of the association. Am J Psychiatry. 1998; 155(3): 325336.Google Scholar