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Fatigue and its Related Factors in Patients with Epilepsy and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizure: a Cross-Sectional Study

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of fatigue and its related factors in patients with epilepsy and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. From January 2017 to January 2018, a descriptive cross-sectional research study was conducted among adult (aged over 18) patients with epilepsy in the neurology clinic of a university-affiliated hospital in Tehran, Iran. The Fatigue Severity Scale was used to determine the prevalence of fatigue, and the relationships between fatigue, demographic characteristics, and clinical properties were evaluated. During the study period, 100 patients were included, comprising 70 (70%) patients diagnosed with epileptic seizures and 30 (30%) with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Fatigue affected 24 patients (34%) out of 70 individuals with epileptic seizures and six patients (20%) out of 30 patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. There was no statistically significant relationship between the incidence of fatigue and age, gender, level of education, occupation, age at the onset of the seizures, duration of the disease, and time since the last seizure. However, fatigue was significantly correlated with the demographic variable of being unmarried (p = 0.007). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between fatigue and taking carbamazepine and levetiracetam (p = 0.001). Our study revealed that fatigue was a prevalent problem (30%) in patients with epilepsy and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Moreover, fatigue was correlated with marital status and the consumption of carbamazepine and levetiracetam.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Loghman Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mahtab Ramezani, Marjan Asadollahi & Elham Kashian

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Kargar Ave, Tehran, 14117-13137, Iran

    Pooya Payandemehr & Ehsan Karimialavijeh

Authors
  1. Mahtab Ramezani
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  2. Marjan Asadollahi
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  3. Elham Kashian
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  4. Pooya Payandemehr
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  5. Ehsan Karimialavijeh
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Contributions

Study design: Asadollahi M

Data collection and analysis: Kashian E, Ramezani M

Manuscript writing: Karimialavijeh E and Ramezani M

Final proof and revision: Payandemehr P

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ehsan Karimialavijeh.

Ethics declarations

The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Shahid Beheshti of Medical Sciences.

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The authors have declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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Ramezani, M., Asadollahi, M., Kashian, E. et al. Fatigue and its Related Factors in Patients with Epilepsy and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizure: a Cross-Sectional Study. SN Compr. Clin. Med. 1, 781–785 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-019-00133-x

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