Psychiatric disorders among 165 patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in India and association with clinical and sociodemographic variables.

OBJECTIVE

The current study evaluated the association between clinical variables and psychiatric disorders (PDs) in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME).

METHODS

Consecutive patients with JME who had at least two years of regular follow-up from May 2011 to April 2014 formed the study population. The association between clinical and sociodemographic data with psychiatric evaluation on structured clinical interview and quality of life in epilepsy - 31 (QOLIE-31) was evaluated using logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Out of 165 patients in the current study, 77 (46.6%) patients were diagnosed with PDs; while 50 were categorized to having anxiety disorders, 27 patients had depressive disorders. The mean age of the study population was 25.35 ± 7.6 years with 37.52% women. Patients with PDs had lower overall QOLIE score (55.84 ± 13.07 vs 68.70 ± 11.23, p<0.001) and lower social function score (80.95 ± 19.22 vs 91.09 ± 14.74, p<0.001). Being married was the strongest predictor of depressive disorders (β=8.59; 95% CI, 1.44-51.28; p=0.018); whereas, lower emotional well-being (β=0.942; 95% CI, 0.907-0.978; p=0.002) was the only variable associated with anxiety disorders. Patients with depressive disorders had longer duration of PDs (11.85 ± 8.68 years vs 7.75 ± 6.70 years, p=0.039), and a majority of them were married (66.7% vs 26.0%, p=0.001). Patients with depressive disorders scored low on emotional well-being (50.81 ± 14.62 vs 61.02 ± 13.05, p=0.002), energy levels (52.78 ± 11.71 vs 62.80 ± 10.84, p<0.001), and social function (70.96 ± 20.69 vs 86.34 ± 16.16, p=0.001). Depressive disorders were more prevalent among married patients above 35 years of age (5.2% vs 36.8%, p=0.042).

SIGNIFICANCE

Nearly half of the patients with JME had coexisting PDs. The psychological profile of anxiety disorders was different from depressive disorders in patients with JME. Depressive disorders were more prevalent among older patients with JME, and marriage was strongly associated with depressive disorders.