title: Suicide outcomes after resective epilepsy surgery.
abstract: People with epilepsy have a higher risk for suicide than people without epilepsy. The relationship between seizure control and suicide is controversial. A standardized protocol to record history, diagnostic testing, and neuropsychiatric assessments was administered. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were administered presurgically and yearly for up to 5 years. Among the 396 enrolled, 4 of 27 deaths were attributed to suicide. The standardized mortality ratio, compared with suicides in the U.S. population and adjusted for age and gender, was 13.3 (95% CI=3.6-34.0). Only one patient had a BDI score suggestive of severe depression (BDI=33), one had depressive symptoms that did not the meet the depressive range (BDI=7), and the other two reported no depressive symptoms. Two of the patients reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (BAI=17 and 21, respectively). Suicide may occur after epilepsy surgery, even when patients report excellent seizure control.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. hamada.hamid@yale.edu
authors.forename: Hamada
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamid
authors.forename: Orrin
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Devinsky
authors.forename: Barbara G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Vickrey
authors.forename: Anne T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Carl W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Bazil
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Langfitt
authors.forename: Thaddeus S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Walczak
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sperling
authors.forename: Shlomo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinnar
authors.forename: Susan S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Spencer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000379:methods; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016896:Treatment Outcome