Effects of Perceived Stigma, Unemployment and Depression on Suicidal Risk in People with Epilepsy

Epilepsy, a common chronic brain disorder, has become a worldwide public health issue [1]. People with epilepsy (PWE) are known to have a higher risk for suicide compared with the general population. The standard mortality ratio for suicide in PWE is three times higher than in general population [2]. Prior research on PWE pointed out that there are many risk factors for suicide such as unemployment, low income, high seizure frequency, some AEDs, seizure-preceding auras, temporal epilepsy, and psychiatric disorders [3-5] Recently, it has been reported that perceived stigma produced by mental or physical disorders may represent a significant risk factor for suicide [6].
Source: Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research