Evaluation of Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents with Epilepsy in a Tertiary-Level Medical Center in Serbia.

BACKGROUNDS: Even though epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in adolescence; studies of adolescents with epilepsy are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether adolescents with epilepsy are more likely to develop anxiety and depressive symptoms than their healthy peers and to determine the relationship of depression and anxiety scores to epilepsy-related variables.

SETTINGS AND

DESIGN

Cross-sectional observational study.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Ninety adolescents with epilepsy aged 13-19 years were compared with healthy controls using the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II) and the Stait Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) for assessment of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Within the study group, epilepsy-related variables were also determined using the stated measures.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The independent sample t-test, One-Way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient.

OUTCOMES AND

RESULTS

23.3% of the study group and 8.3% of the control group had mild to moderate depression. The mean BDI II score was significantly higher in the group of adolescents with epilepsy. Comparing the STAI scores, results on both STAI scales were higher in the study group. Regarding the epilepsy-related variables, a high frequency of seizures, symptomatic etiology and polytherapy showed strong associations with high depression and anxiety scores.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Symptoms of depression and anxiety are not uncommon among adolescents with epilepsy. BDI II and STAI may be used as screening tools to provide useful information to clinicians when assessing adolescents' mental status.