Comorbidity of anxiety and depressive disorders in patients with epilepsy

Objective. To identify the role of the lateralization of the epileptic focus in the manifestation of comorbid psychopathological symptoms in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Material and methods. A total of 104 patients diagnosed with epilepsy were included in the study, comprising 40 males and 64 females, with a mean age of 35.65±8.45 years. Participants were categorized into three groups based on electroencephalographic findings: left-sided epileptic focus (n=28), right-sided focus (n=25), and bilateral foci (n=51). The psychometric assessment utilized the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), which consists of nine distinct subscales. Statistical analyses were conducted using Student’s t-test, correlation analysis, and regression methods. Results. The mean scores for the SCL-90 subscales did not reveal any statistically significant differences among the groups (p>0.05). Notably, in patients with right-sided localization, the correlation between depression and anxiety (r=0.84) was stronger than that observed in the left-sided focus group (r=0.62). Similarly, correlations with other SCL-90 indicators, such as somatization (right-sided r=0.77; left-sided r=0.34) and paranoid ideation (right-sided r=0.81; left-sided r=0.53), showed stronger associations in the right-sided focus group. Regression analysis confirmed the correlation between depression and anxiety as significant exclusively within the right focus group (beta coefficient 0.83). Conclusions. The findings highlight the significance of the lateralization of the epileptic focus in the development of affective psychopathological symptoms, as well as the interplay between depressive and anxiety syndromes in patients with TLE. These insights may inform the personalization of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.