title: Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents With Epilepsy.
abstract: The present study examined anxiety and depression in adolescents with epilepsy and the association of these disorders with seizure-related and sociodemographic variables. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was administered to 140 children with epilepsy and 50 children with asthma aged 10 to 18 years attending mainstream schools. Adolescents with epilepsy had significantly higher scores on the depression subscale than those with asthma (5.2 ± 3.3 vs 4.2 ± 3.2, P = .032). Anxiety subscale scores and the frequency of anxiety and depression in both the epilepsy and asthma groups were not statistically significant. In the epilepsy group, 32.8% had anxiety and 22.1% had depression. Factors associated with anxiety were older age at the time of the study and polytherapy (2 or more antiepileptic drugs). Adolescents who had been seizure-free for 12 months or more at time of the study were less likely to experience anxiety. Factors associated with depression were medical comorbidities, female gender, frequent seizures, and younger age of seizure onset. A common risk factor for both anxiety and depression was the duration of epilepsy. Anxiety and depression were also highly associated with each other. Affective disorders are common in epilepsy and screening for psychiatric symptoms is required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong kwonglk@ha.org.hk.
authors.forename: Karen Ling
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kwong
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ngan
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tai Sum
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Siu Man
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants
keywords: adolescents; anxiety; depression; epilepsy