Gender and socioeconomic factors in patients with non-epileptic seizures

Abstract:

Absentmindedness or transitory alteration of awareness is often encountered in medical practice. It is a form of non-epileptic seizure. As non-epileptic seizures frequently resemble epileptic seizures, it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. Non-epileptic paroxysmal seizures are behavioural, motor or sensitive episodes that are not caused by abnormal cortical electrical activity. All psychogenic fits function as coping mechanisms and are not intentional. Most probably, they are maladaptive psychological defence mechanisms triggered in order to suppress the subconscious stress and they manifest as a physical symptom – a fit. The present study explored socioeconomic, age and gender characteristics of the patients suffering from non-epileptic seizures and compared them with patients suffering from epilepsy. Also, the characteristics were evaluated as possible predictive factors for the development of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. 

Key words:
epilepsy; seizures; sex; socioeconomic factors