Comorbidities among Patients with Epilepsy Attending Imam Al-Sadiq General Hospital in Babylon Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

People with epilepsy often have other health conditions. Epidemiological findings are an important source of information on the topic of epilepsy comorbidity. These investigations show that patients with epilepsy frequently suffer from co-occurring disorders, involving nearly all body systems. This study aims to determine the frequency of comorbidities among epilepsy patients. Patient and method: a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Imam Al-Sadiq general hospital, included 225 participants collected from 10th January/2022 to 10th May/2022. The samples were collected under the supervision of a neurologist. The mean age of epilepsy was 32.26 ± 13.94. 55.6% of the participants were males and 44.4% were females, the male to female ratio was 1.25:1. Vast majority (83.5%) of the studied samples had a low socio-economic status. prevalence of comorbidities among patients with epilepsy was high Among medical comorbidities, the highest percentage (56.9%) of participants were suffering from migraine. Among psychiatric comorbidities, 67.1% of them were suffered from anxiety and 61.9% with depression. 7.6% of patient were suffering from Dementia/ Alzheimer’s disease as cognitive comorbidities. It found an increased risk for full spectrum of medical, psychiatric disorders. The most common medical comorbidities were migraines and musculoskeletal system disorders. more than half of participants were suffering from anxiety and depression, half of them with sleep disorders. More comprehensive assessment with advanced diagnostic and treatment standards and treating not only the epilepsy but also any other present conditions.