A Study Of The Relationship Of Epilepsy With Psychoactive Substance Dependence In A Prison Population
- Author:
Pankaj Sureka
;
Sandeep Govil
;
Naveen Kumar Girdhar
;
Mukesh Kumar
;
Vikas Singhal
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Epilepsy;
Substance Use;
Prisoners
- From:ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry
2014;15(2):153-163
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of epilepsy in prisoners
suffering from substance dependence and the relationship between onset of
epilepsy and substance dependence in a prison population. Methods: The present
cross-sectional study in a prison population was conducted in Central Jail (CJ),
New Delhi, India over a period of 3 months. The convenience sample consisted of
900 subjects. The study group consisted of 450 prisoners taken from the deaddiction
ward and the rest were placed in the control group. Physical
examination and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) of subjects were done
to make necessary exclusion. Assessment tools were applied in the order starting
from MMSE, Basic Socio-demographic Performa, Present State Examination
(PSE), and Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Results: The average ages of study
and control subjects were 34.5 + 2.3 years (mean + standard deviation) and 35.6
+ 3.6 years respectively. Prevalence of epilepsy among substance using prisoners
was 1.4 times higher than in non-substance using prisoners. Alcohol, opioid, and
cannabis, either alone or in various combinations, were the most commonly used
substances. Subjects suffering from epilepsy were likely to have higher chances
of consuming three or more substances than those without problem of epilepsy.
Study subjects suffering from epilepsy compared with those without epilepsy
performed worse in all parameters. This is indicative of higher severity of
psychoactive substance dependence. Conclusion: Findings of high prevalence
rate of epilepsy and co-morbid substance dependence highlight the need for
better screening among epileptic subjects for substance abuse at entry into
prison for effective treatment while in custody, and at follow-up on release.
Specialist addiction services for prisoners have a considerable impact in a wellplanned
intervention programme for prisoners with substance use and comorbid
epilepsy. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 15 (2): July – December
2014: 153-163.
- Full text:P020150204600827468245.pdf
