The psychiatric and somatic comorbidities of epilepsy - the development of prospective multicenter cohorts using observational and administrative data.

Epilepsy is the second most common neurological condition worldwide, second only to headache. One in every 10 person has at least one seizure in their life. Many of these people go on to develop epilepsy, characterized by repeated, unpredictable seizures. Epilepsy affects people of all ages, gender, and socio-economic status. Epilepsy imposes a significant burden on patients, their families, and society and this burden is even greater if those with epilepsy who have other conditions (known as comorbidities). Studies show that those with epilepsy are more likely to have other conditions, including psychiatric (e.g. major depression) or medical conditions (e.g. migraine, stroke, diabetes). It is not known whether epilepsy is causing these other comorbidities, or vice versa. One way to answer this question is to develop epilepsy cohorts: epidemiological studies that allow us to record information from a group of new patients with epilepsy over time. Our objectives will be to: (1) develop epilepsy cohorts to record comorbidities before and after epilepsy diagnosis; (2) develop a tool which will help health providers determine which person with epilepsy should be referred for a mental health evaluation; (3) test our tool in a large group of those with epilepsy to see if applying it improves their overall health and quality of life. Developing cohorts is crucial in order to improve the capacity to conduct epilepsy surveillance which is currently non existent in Canada. The availability of epilepsy cohorts to study comorbidities and other outcomes will improve planning, coordination and evaluation of overall health care needs, burden of epilepsy and its comorbidities. It will help us ensure proper resources are in place for those with epilepsy. Finally, developing a rating tool to identify those with epilepsy who should be referred for a mental health evaluation should improve their overall health.