Gender differences in prevalence of psychiatric disorders, levels of alexithymia, and coping strategies in patients with refractory mesial temporal epilepsy and comorbid psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the psychological aspects and psychiatric disorders (PDs) in patients dually diagnosed with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy and mesial temporal sclerosis (TLE-MTS) with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) treated in a tertiary center in order to find any gender differences in psychiatric, clinical, and sociodemographic characteristics. METHOD: Psychiatric assessment was performed through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Psychiatric Disorders - 5th edition (DSM-5). The Brazilian versions of the Medical Outcomes Study 36 (SF-36), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), and Ways of Coping Checklist (WCC) were applied. RESULTS: Of the 47 patients enrolled (25 females; 53.2%), females were significantly more likely to have a history of previous psychiatric treatment (P=0.02), family history of epilepsy (P=0.01), and family history of PD (P=0.03). They also presented earlier onset of PNES (P=0.01) and higher PNES duration (P=0.02) compared with males. Major depressive disorder (MDD) was the most frequent PD (24; 51.0%). Females presented more psychiatric diagnoses (P<0.001), more diagnoses of MDD (P<0.001), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (P<0.001). Several differences regarding quality of life, levels of alexithymia, anxiety/depressive symptoms, and coping strategies were observed between groups. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant gender differences in psychiatric, clinical, and sociodemographic aspects in a group of patients with TLE-MTS and PNES, as well as in quality of life, levels of alexithymia, anxiety/depressive symptoms, and coping strategies. These gender differences suggest that specific approaches might be adopted depending on the patient's gender and, consequently, their distinct psychological/psychiatric profile.