title: Affective temperament profiles and clinical correlates in patients with epilepsy: a link from mood disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The current study sought to investigate the affective temperaments of patients with epilepsy and possible relationships between disease characteristics and temperament profiles.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 70 adults with epilepsy and 70 healthy volunteers completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego (TEMPS-A).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with epilepsy had higher scores on these three scales than healthy controls. With respect to temperaments, irritable temperament alone was significantly higher in patients than controls. Irritable temperament also had a significant positive correlation with psychiatric history, whereas depressive temperament had a significant positive correlation with illness and treatment duration. Patients who had suffered simple partial and complex partial seizures had higher anxious temperament scores than patients with generalized epilepsy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because the study group was recruited through consecutive patients seen in a single neurology clinic, our findings may not be representative of PWE in general.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because irritability is one of the key symptoms of interictal dysphoric disorder and because TEMPS-A irritable temperament and BDI scores were found to be significantly related, the high rate of irritable temperament in our patient sample may be associated with depressive mood. We may suggest that at least some of the affective symptoms in patients with epilepsy and the historical concept of "epileptic personality" may be explained by affective temperaments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat 60030, Turkey. Electronic address: erd.serap@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Serap
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erdoğan Taycan
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Department, Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Okan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Taycan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007508:Irritable Mood; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality; D011594:Psychometrics; D013694:Temperament; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Affective temperament; Bipolar disorder; Epilepsy