Neurologic and psychiatric symptoms and diseases in families of persons with epilepsy

BACKGROUND: Neurologic and psychiatric comorbidities are a major contributor to the disease burden in patients with epilepsy. The aim of this family history study was to describe patient-reported neurologic and psychiatric symptoms and diseases in families of persons with epilepsy (PWEs). SUBJECTS: We have previously identified an all-cause epilepsy cohort of 508 PWE, who had participated in prior epilepsy studies at the Oulu University Hospital. A structured questionnaire on neurologic and psychiatric symptoms and diseases in their family was sent to each cohort member, and 172 of them agreed to participate. Five age, sex, and home municipality matched peers per each PWE were identified from the Finnish Population Register Centre. These 884 individuals received similar written questionnaires, and 168 participated. RESULTS: PWE were more likely to report a relative with migraine (RR 1.32, CI 1.07-1.63), or psychiatric diseases (RR 1.98, CI 1.25-3.13) than the controls. Women with epilepsy were also more likely to report relatives with epilepsy or with symptoms referring to epilepsy (RR 1.66, CI 1.14-2.42), or movement disorder symptoms (RR 2.30, CI 1.35-3.91) than controls. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-reported rate of neurologic and psychiatric symptoms and diseases was higher in the families of PWE than those of population-based matched control subjects. Knowledge of the possible increased disease burden in the families of PWE promotes recognition of these conditions in everyday clinical settings.