- Posted December 8, 2025
Depression Increases Epilepsy Risk, Makes It Harder To Treat
People with depression have a more than doubled risk of developing epilepsy, a new study says.
Worse, depression then makes epilepsy more difficult to treat, according to results of a second study.
Both papers, presented Friday at the annual meeting in Atlanta of the American Epilepsy Society, shed fresh light on the complex relationship between the two conditions.
“These findings highlight the importance of early detection of both conditions and coordinated care between mental health and neurology professionals,” Dr. Howard Goodkin, president of the American Epilepsy Society, said in a news release.
“The bottom line is good depression care supports brain health,” added Goodkin, who was not involved in either study.
For the first study, researchers found that depression led to a 2.4-times increased risk of developing epilepsy, based on data pooled from eight prior studies.
In particular, two recent large-scale studies involving more than 11,000 people confirmed that people diagnosed with depression have a higher rate of epilepsy later on, researchers said.
“Our findings show a consistent association that suggests an increased risk of developing epilepsy after depression, but they do not show that depression causes epilepsy,” lead researcher Dr. Ali Rafati, a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a news release.
“We need to learn more about the biological connection, but the link between depression and epilepsy could be related to shared brain networks, stress and inflammation pathways and sleep issues,” Rafati added.
For the second study, researchers analyzed data on more than 90,000 people recently diagnosed with epilepsy.
Results showed that those with depression were 40% more likely to not be adequately helped by their first antiseizure medication.
“People with epilepsy are known to be at higher risk for mood disorders, but our study uncovers new information that those with depression are more likely to fail their first treatment,” lead researcher Dr. Samuel Terman, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said in a news release.
These folks “failed” their first antiseizure drug — meaning that they stopped taking it, had to switch to a different drug, or added another antiseizure med to their regimen.
“We didn’t assess why a person stopped or changed treatments, but it is likely that the initial treatment either was not tolerated or not effective enough,” Terman said.
People with epilepsy and depression also were more likely to have other mental health problems, including:
Anxiety (65% versus 24%)
Sleep disorders (42% versus 21%)
Psychosis (20% versus 8%)
Bipolar disorder (18% versus 8%)
People with both conditions also had higher rates of heart problems, lung diseases, diabetes and kidney disease, researchers said.
“Depression could affect epilepsy treatment in various ways, such as influencing a person’s motivation to continue medication, making their complex drug regimen too challenging or magnifying side effects,” Terman said. “Or they may have other neurological conditions that may worsen seizures or medication tolerance.”
“This underscores the importance of integrating mental health care into epilepsy treatment to keep patients on effective therapies longer and improve outcomes,” Terman added.
Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
The Epilepsy Foundation has more on depression and epilepsy.
SOURCES: American Epilepsy Society, news release, Dec. 5, 2025; American Epilepsy Society, abstracts, Dec. 6, 2025
