OBJECTIVES

This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression and the possible contributions of the caregiver's anxiety and depression, disease status, and socio-demographic characteristics to psychopathological comorbidities among adult patients with epilepsy.

METHODS

A total of 262 participants (131 adult patient-caregiver pairs) were enrolled in this study. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A) were applied to evaluate the depression and anxiety status among adult patients with epilepsy and their caregivers, respectively. We collected caregivers' anxiety and depression, patients' sociodemographic characteristic data, and disease status as independent variables using stepwise multiple linear regression analysis that were correlated to the degree of anxiety and depression among these adult patients with epilepsy.

RESULTS

Among adult patients with epilepsy, 46 (35.11%) subjects showed anxiety symptoms (HAM-A scores > 6), and 48 (36.64%) had depression symptoms (HAM-D scores > 6). Caregivers' anxiety levels and place of residence were significant independent predictors of both anxiety and depression levels among adult patients with epilepsy.

CONCLUSIONS

Adult patients with epilepsy are at a high risk of suffering from anxiety and depression. Caregivers' anxiety and place of residence are definite independent predictors for anxiety and depression severity among adult patients with epilepsy. Therefore, clinicians should be careful in closely monitoring the psychological status of adult patients with epilepsy and their caregivers. Furthermore, the government and medical institutions should increase educational awareness about epilepsy and its cure, especially among adult patients with epilepsy who live in rural areas and consider offering a multidisciplinary management program to improve these patients' psychological status.