UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO ADULT SITUATIONAL STRESS IN THE GENESIS OF NON-EPILEPTIC SEIZURES
Abstract number :
1.021
Submission category :
Year :
2003
Submission ID :
2260
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2003, 06:00 AM
Authors :
Catherine Dinneen, Norman Delanty, Veronica O Keane, Richard Booth, Deirdre Mc Mackin Department of Psychology, St. Patrick[apos]s Hospital, James[apos]s Street, Dublin 8, Ireland; Department of Neurology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Ireland; Department
Non-epileptic seizures are brief and temporary episodes of sudden onset, loss or alteration of physical or mental function without underlying medical or physiological cause. The aetiology of non-epileptic seizures (NES) has been a source of considerable debate but remains poorly understood. Existing literature suggests a history of physical, emotional or sexual trauma renders patients vulnerable to the development of dissociative or conversion disorders. Studies to date on the role of trauma in NES have been methodologically flawed due to retrospective designs that do not control for the effect of a seizure disorder and do not include a control group. This study examines trauma and stressful life events in two intractable seizure populations prior to video-EEG diagnosis of seizure disorder. The aim of the study is to determine the levels of childhood and adult trauma and stressful life experiences in non-epileptic seizure patients compared to epilepsy and age and gender matched controls.
Fifty patients presenting to an epilepsy-monitoring unit completed a stress and trauma checklist while both interviewer and patient were blind to seizure diagnosis. Following video-electroencephalographic evaluation, 22 patients were diagnosed with non-epileptic attack disorder and 28 with epilepsy. An age and gender matched control group also completed the checklist.
A history of childhood trauma was significantly associated with NES diagnosis (p=.000) however sexual trauma alone did not differentiate between the two seizure disorder groups (p=.157). The NES group reported significantly more multiple childhood traumas (p=.000) than epilepsy patients or controls. NES diagnosis correlated significantly with reports of various adult situational stressors (p=.000).
The role of childhood truama, while significant, is likely to be too narrow an explanation for the genesis of NES. These data suggest that both early traumatic experiences and emotional coping style learned in childhood are critical in the genesis of NES in adulthood.
[Supported by: Health Services Fellowship from the Health Research Board (Ireland)]