Epilepsy and its main psychiatric comorbidities in adults and children

• We have evaluated the main psychiatric comorbidities in patients with epilepsy.
• The relationship between epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidities is unclear.
• We have reviewed literature concerning epilepsy in adulthood and childhood.
• Psychiatric disorders in patients with epilepsy are underdiagnosed and undertreated.
• Early treatment of psychiatric disorders may increase quality of life in epilepsy.

Psychiatric disorders seem to be more frequent in patients with epilepsy (PWE) than the general population. Although researchers have documented a strong association between epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidities, the nature of this relationship is poorly understood. According to this, psychiatric diseases are often underdiagnosed and undertreated in PWE with further decrease of the quality of life of patients.The aim of the review was to examine the most frequent psychiatric comorbidities in adults with epilepsy (AWE) and the main psychiatric comorbidities in children with epilepsy (CWE) in order to better understand the relationship between epilepsy and the development of psychiatric disorders.