Depressive Symptoms and Its Correlate Among Children with Epilepsy at Single-center Study in Oman

Abstract

Objectives:Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in children and comorbid depression is common. This study aimed to assess the frequency of depressive symptoms along with demographic and clinical factors in children diagnosed with epilepsy in a tertiary care institution in Oman. Methods:This cross-sectionalstudy was conducted between June 2016 and August 2018 and constituted children (n=75) with age group from 6 to 12 years old, attending the epilepsy clinic at a tertiary care center during the study period. The cohort constituted of children with epilepsy (CWE) following up at a dedicated unit. The instrument, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children (CESDC),was utilized to assess the presence of depressive symptoms. Associated factors including history of seizure in the last three months, compliance with antiepileptic medications,and type of epilepsy were also examined. Results:Depressive symptoms were endorsed in 52%of CWE and 96% of them were compliant to medications. The recurrent seizure was present in the last three months among 48% of the CWE. The type of epilepsy was significantly associated with the presence of depressive symptoms. Conclusions:The present study found that depression is prevalent among Omani CWE. Certain clinical factors appeared to increase the risk of depression among this population. The findings of this study fill a gap in the existing literature and call for further work aiming to explore possible tailored recognition and CWE.

Depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with epilepsy and primary headache: a cross-sectional observational study

“…Similar results were found in a recent study, conducted in Oman, with 75 children with epilepsy, aged 6–12 years ( 21 ). The authors found that younger children had difficulty expressing their mood and sadness, reporting fewer depressive symptoms, which were represented by irritability, anger, and sleep disturbances.…”

Comparison of Resilience and Depression in Children and Adolescents with Epilepsy and Healthy Controls

“…According to a study conducted in China, the psychological resilience of the first child was found to be significantly lower than that of the only child [36]. Although there was no relationship between the number of siblings and psychological resilience in our study, more detailed results can be obtained by adding the parameters of one child and first child (Table 4).…”