The social impact of epilepsy on the development of depression in epileptic patients: A cross-sectional study in newly diagnosed patients with epilepsy
Abstract number :
1.351
Submission category :
11. Behavior/Neuropsychology/Language / 11A. Adult
Year :
2017
Submission ID :
334044
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/2/2017 5:02:24 PM
Published date :
Nov 20, 2017, 11:02 AM
Authors :
Mohammed Alqahtani, Aseer Central Hospital; Fawzi Babtain, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center; Dlaim Alqahtani, Aseer Central Hospital; Faisal Al Malwi, Aseer Central Hospital; Muhannad Asiri, King Khalid University - College Of Medicine;
Rationale: Depression was reported in one-third of patients with epilepsy, which negatively influenced patient’s socio-economic status. It’s yet unknown when the depression started in these patients for which this study was conducted. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to investigate the association between epilepsy duration and the presence of depression. Methods: We studied 131 patients, who were divided into two groups; newly diagnosed (diagnosed within one year from their first seizure), and old epileptics (diagnosed between one to five years). Patient’s demographics, including epilepsy etiology and semiology, MRI and EEG findings were obtained from our hospital’s epilepsy registry. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI- II) was used to identify and scale depression Results: There were 68 men (52%), the mean age at the diagnosis was 21 years (range; 13 - 80), and the average duration of epilepsy was two years (range 0 – 4 years). Epilepsy was thought to be idiopathic in 34 patients (26%), cryptogenic in 46 (35%), and symptomatic in 49 (37%). According to BDI, depression was identified in 68 patients (52%), which was mild in 23 (18%), moderate in 24 patients (18%), and severe in only 21 patients (16%). Sixty-four patients (35%) were considered newly diagnosed, and 85 patients (65%) were found to be old epileptics. According to epilepsy duration, depression was significantly seen more in newly diagnosed patients (72 vs 41 %, the unadjusted OR = 3.63, 95% CI; 1.67 - 7.86, p-value < 0.001), who also had a higher DBI-II scale (19.6 vs 14.8 , 95 % CI; 0.27- 9.2, p-value = 0.04). Logistic regression analysis showed that newly epileptic patients were three times more likely to be depressed (adjusted OR = 3.1, 95 % CI; 1.2 – 8.3, p = 0.02). Depression was seen even more in patients with no family history of epilepsy (FHE) (adjusted OR = 4.6, 95% CI; 1.7 – 14.6, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Depression was very common in patients with epilepsy. It was significantly associated with the duration of epilepsy, and more likely in patients with no FHE. Our findings may suggest difficulty adjusting to the diagnosis of epilepsy. The need to screen for depression in epileptic patients is recommended, particular early after the diagnosis. Funding: None
Behavior/Neuropsychology