PURPOSE:
To investigate factors contributing to anxiety and depressive symptoms over a 1-year period in Korean adults with new-onset epilepsy.
METHODS:
This longitudinal multicenter study included adults diagnosed with epilepsy within 12?months of a first seizure. Using stepwise regression analyses, we determined whether Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) scores could be predicted by demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables at baseline and at 12?months.
RESULTS:
Of 141 patients included at baseline, 63 (44.7%) and 60 (42.6%) had Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-A) and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Depression (HADS-D) scores >7, respectively. Of 98 patients who completed the 12-month study, the corresponding figures decreased to 32.7% and 36.7%, respectively. Higher HADS-A scores both at baseline and 12?months were predicted by higher neuroticism, stigma, and lower self-esteem (p?<?0.05). Higher HADS-D scores at baseline were predicted by higher neuroticism, lower self-esteem, marital status, and lower extroversion (p?<?0.05) whereas those at 12?months were predicted by self-esteem, seizure recurrence, and age at epilepsy onset (p?<?0.05). Neuroticism or self-esteem was the strongest predictor of psychological distress.
CONCLUSIONS:
Anxiety and depressive symptoms are common at the time of diagnosis in Korean adults with new-onset epilepsy. While these decrease over time, they remained high 12?months after epilepsy diagnosis. Psychological factors, particularly neuroticism and self-esteem, may be the most important risk factors. Epilepsy variables, such as seizure recurrence and age at onset, may also be important factors for depressed mood at 12?months.