title: Illness perceptions mediate the relationship between depression and quality of life in patients with epilepsy.
abstract: The current study examined whether negative illness perceptions help explain the link between depression and quality of life. Seventy patients with epilepsy completed standardized self-report questionnaires measuring depression, illness perception, and quality of life (QOL). Illness perception statistically mediated the relationship between depression and QOL (Indirect effect (CI; confidence interval) = -.72, lower limit = -1.7, upper limit = -.22, p < .05). Results held with and without adjusting for potential confounding variables (age, sex, ethnicity, income, and seizure frequency) and when operationalizing depression as a continuous variable that indexed severity of symptoms or as a dichotomous variable that indexed criteria consistent with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. This study is the first to suggest that illness perceptions may be a useful target in screening and intervention approaches in order to improve QOL among low-income, racially/ethnically diverse patients with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Population Health, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Amanda J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Shallcross
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Penn Epilepsy Center, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Danielle A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9493-2604
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Anuradha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Population Health, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montesdeoca
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Orrin
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Devinsky
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Population Health, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Tanya M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Spruill
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010465:Perception; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Depression; Illness Perceptions; Quality of Life