The homeless, seizures, and epilepsy: a review

Abstract

This review aims to estimate the prevalence of seizures and epilepsy among homeless people in current literature as well as understand the main adversities that this group withstands. We conducted a search for “epilep*”, “seizur*”, and “homeles*” in titles and abstracts of articles in PubMed. Overall, 25 articles met the final inclusion criteria and warranted analyses. This study suggests that the prevalence of epilepsy in the homeless population is between 2 and 30%, whereas the prevalence of homelessness in people with epilepsy is between 2 and 4%. Every study included in this review corroborates the increased prevalence of seizures and epilepsy among the homeless, which puts them at risk for worse outcomes related to this condition and numerous associated comorbidities. Further evidence is needed to clarify the distinction of primary and secondary seizures in this group, which shows a high rate of confounding factors for seizures like substance abuse or withdrawal and head injury, and to decrease the burden of epilepsy and homelessness in an already resource-deficient community.

Homeless people: a review of personality disorders

“…What is the importance of attachment dysfunctions? What is the role of PD’s secondary to organic conditions such as seizures or epilepsy, which is also common among homeless people ( 68 )?…”

Editorial: Mental illness and neuropsychiatry of the homeless: psychosis, personality, drug abuse, and other brain disorders

“…We published papers revisiting theoretical concepts such as marontology, comorbidity (Gama Marques and Bento, 2020a , b ), super-difficult patients (Gama Marques, 2021 ), mortification and shelterization (Gama Marques, 2022a , b ). We did reviews on homelessness and epilepsy (Pontes Silva and Gama Marques, 2023 ), schizoaffective psychoses (Spranger Forte et al, 2023 ), and attachment disorders (Neves Horácio et al, 2023 ). And we spread case reports of homeless patients with conditions such as haltlose personality disorder (Gama Marques, 2019 ), treatment resistant schizophrenia, organic psychosis, pellagra, Capgras delusion (Gama Marques, 2022a , b ), Huntington chorea, John Doe and Diogenes syndromes (Gama Marques, 2023 ).…”