FREQUENCY OF DEPRESSION IN EPILEPSY: A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY
Abstract
Background: Depression is the most frequent psychiatric morbidity among epileptic patientsadversely affecting their quality of life. It has also been associated with deliberate self harm andsuicide. The objectives of this study were to know the frequency of depression in epileptic patientscoming to neurology clinic of tertiary care hospital and also to find an association of clinical anddemographic variables of epileptic patients with depression. Methods: Convenient samplingmethod was used to select patients after informed consent. Depression was diagnosed using semistructured interview based on ICD-10. Data was analyses using SPSS version 10.0, and analysiscarried out using descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi-square test of association was applied tosee the significance. Result: Out of total 100 patients 55% were males, 47% were married andmean age of the patients was 25.5±4.34 years. About 60% patients were found depressed at thetime of interview. Male patients, being married and coming from low socioeconomic stratum weresignificantly associated with depression. None of the patient was on anti-depressant medication.Conclusion: Depression was found to be highly prevalent psychiatric morbidity in epilepticpatients. Men, married status, uncontrolled epilepsy and low socioeconomic group more prone tohave depression.Keywords: Depression, Epilepsy, SuicideReferences
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