Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar 11:19:19.
doi: 10.1186/s12991-020-00268-5. eCollection 2020.

Prevalence of depression and associated factors among epileptic patients at Ilu Ababore zone hospitals, South West Ethiopia, 2017: a cross‑sectional study

Nigus Alemnew Engidaw  1 , Lemi Bacha  2 , Adamu Kenea  2
Affiliations

Prevalence of depression and associated factors among epileptic patients at Ilu Ababore zone hospitals, South West Ethiopia, 2017: a cross‑sectional study

Nigus Alemnew Engidaw et al. Ann Gen Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Depression is one of the most common and overwhelming mental disorder in patients with epilepsy. Despite its high prevalence, depression continues to be under-recognized and undertreated. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among epileptic patients attending the outpatient department of Ilu Ababore zone hospitals, Southwest Ethiopia, 2017.

Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 402 individual with epilepsy. The participants were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Depression was measured using Beck's Depression Inventory II. Oslo 3 Social Support Scale was used to assess social support. Perceived Stress Scale was used to assess the stress level of epileptic patients. The data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and analyzed by the SPSS version 20 software. We computed bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions to assess factors associated with depression. Statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05.

Results: A total of 402 study participants were interviewed with a response rate of 96.2%. The prevalence of depression was found to be 48.1%. In the final multivariate analysis, educational status [unable to read and write (AOR = 4.01,95% CI = 3.82, 8.28), primary (AOR = 3.43, 95% CI = 3.12,9.29), secondary (AOR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.89,7.24)], high perceived stress (AOR = 3.21, 95% CI = 2.70, 8.41), poor social support (AOR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.42, 2.78), onset of illness < 6 year (AOR = 2.40, 95%CI = 2.10,7.91), seizure frequency of [1-11 per year (AOR = 2.34, 95% = 1.41, 4.36), ≥ 12/year (AOR = 3.49, 95% CI = 3.43, 6.40)], and polytherapy (AOR = 2.73, 95%CI = 2.52, 7.14) were independent predictors of depression among epileptic patients at p-value < 0.05.

Conclusion and recommendation: Overall, the prevalence of depression was found to be high. Having lower educational status, early onset of illness, poor social support, high perceived stress, high seizure frequency, and polytherapy were factors statistically associated with depression. Clinicians need to give emphasis to epileptic patients with high perceived stress, low educational status, and poor social support. An early depression-focused regular screening for epileptic patient should be carried out by trained health professionals. Linkage with mental health service providers also needs to be considered.

Keywords: Depression; Epilepsy; Ethiopia; Prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Aicardi J, Engel J, Pedley T. Epilepsy: a comprehensive textbook Wolters Kluwer Health. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008.
    1. Berg AT, Scheffer IE. New concepts in classification of the epilepsies: entering the 21st century. Epilepsia. 2011;52(6):1058–1062. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03101.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Organization WH. Epilepsy in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region: bridging the gap. Geneva: Organization WH; 2010.
    1. Berkovic SF, Dibbens LM, Oshlack A, Silver JD, Katerelos M, Vears DF, Lüllmann-Rauch R, Blanz J, Zhang KW, Stankovich J. Array-based gene discovery with three unrelated subjects shows SCARB2/LIMP-2 deficiency causes myoclonus epilepsy and glomerulosclerosis. Am J Hum Genet. 2008;82(3):673–684. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2007.12.019. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Imms C, Dodd KJ. What is cerebral palsy. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy for people with cerebral palsy a problem-based approach to assessment and management. London: Mac Keith Press; 2010. pp. 7–30.

LinkOut - more resources