Symptoms of anxiety and depression and family's quality of life in children and adolescents with epilepsy

Introduction We studied children and adolescents with epilepsy (CAWE) and their families to evaluate symptoms of anxiety and depression, quality of life (QoL), and their correlations with epilepsy characteristics. Material and methods The study included 326 (52.5% females) 8 to 18 years old CAWE. Anxiety and depression were assessed with the â Self-administered psychiatric scales for children and adolescentsâ (SAFA), and family's QoL with the parentsâ report â Impact of Epilepsy on QoLâ (IEQoL). Results The CAWE exhibiting abnormal (T â ¥ 70) scores were 8.0% in the anxiety scale, 9.2% in the depression scale, and 4.6% in both scales. Social anxiety was the predominant anxiety symptom, while irritable mood and desperation were the most frequent symptoms of depression. Depressive symptoms were associated with parentsâ complaint of higher worries about the child's condition and future and lower well-being of the family. Severity and duration of the epilepsy and polypharmacy were independent from abnormal scores of anxiety and depression, but were associated with parentsâ worries about the child's condition and family's well-being. Conclusions Anxiety and depression in CAWE are independent from the characteristics of the disease but are correlated to the lower well-being of the family. A search of these emotional problems is recommended for better care of the patients and their families.