Psychiatric comorbidities are common in patients with epilepsy (PWE). Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent of these comorbidities and are associated with worse quality of life. Several screening tools are available to identify and follow up these conditions. However, time constrains in outpatient clinic visits and limited access to mental healthcare professionals discourage clinicians to use them.
This paper discusses the advantage and limitations of screening tools and makes a compelling argument for neurologists to take an active role in the diagnosis and treatment of common psychiatric comorbidities in PWE. This article is part of the Special Issue Obstacles of Treatment of Psychiatric Comorbidities in Epilepsy.