Sex Effects on Coping, Dissociation, and PTSD in Patients With Non-epileptic Seizures.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Sex differences in non-epileptic seizures (NES) are of interest, as the diagnosis is more frequent in women than men (3:1 ratio). This paper reviews clinical findings regarding sex differences in NES through selective literature review and compares coping measures between women and men in our NES clinic.


RECENT FINDINGS
Some distinguishing clinical features of NES in women and men are reported in the literature. However, we found few sex differences in demographics and coping. In our population, avoidance and dissociation were strongly related to one another and significantly related to co-occurring PTSD diagnosis, which was seen in over 50% in both sexes. Our findings confirm a high prevalence of PTSD in patients with NES, suggesting that comorbid PTSD may override sex differences in accounting for use of avoidant and dissociative coping. These findings raise the possibility that NES may, at times, represent an extreme variant in dysfunctional coping in patients with PTSD.
['Libbon|Randi|R|0000-0003-4064-4348', 'Baker|Sarah|S|', 'Watson|Meagan|M|', 'Natvig|Crystal|C|', 'Strom|Laura|L|', 'Mikulich|Susan|S|']
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological D004213:Dissociative Disorders D004569:Electroencephalography D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D012640:Seizures D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Coping Dissociation Non-epileptic seizures Dissociative seizures Gender differences Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures