Suicide and epilepsy: a review of the literature.

Abstract

The authors systematically survey the clinical reports and mortality studies of suicide among epileptic patients. Of the 1,150 deaths of epileptics represented in the mortality studies cited, an average 5.0% of the deaths resulted from suicide, whereas the suicide rate in the U.S. general population is 1.4%. However, methodologic problems, particularly a lack of group comparability, in the investigations reviewed indicate the need for further research. Nevertheless, the cumulative evidence of an increased suicide risk among epileptic persons emphasizes the necessity for physicians to be alert to possible suicidal tendencies in their epileptic patients.