Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and Epilepsy : A Systematic Review

Abstract EN

Background.

Sleep complaints are common in patients with epilepsy (PWE).

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is one of the most reported complaints and its impact is still a matter of debate.

Objective.

Evaluate the relationship between EDS and epilepsy, with emphasis on prevalence, assessment, and causes.

Methods.

A systematic review on PubMed database in the last 10 years (2002 to 2012).

The search returned 53 articles and 34 were considered relevant.

After citation analysis, 3 more articles were included.

Results.

Most studies were cross-sectional and questionnaire based.

14 papers addressed EDS as the primary endpoint.

14 adult and 3 children studies used subjective and objective analysis as methodology.

The number of studies increased throughout the decade, with 21 in the last 5 years.

Adult studies represent almost three times the number of children studies.

EDS prevalence in PWE varies from 10 to 47.5%.

Prevalence was higher in developing countries.

Conclusion.

EDS seems to be related more frequently to undiagnosed sleep disorders than to epilepsy-related factors, and although it affects the quality of life of PWE, it can be improved by treating comorbid primary sleep disorders.