Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in adult epilepsy patients by utilizing PHQ-9 and GAD-7 and examine associated factors and risk factors of these psychomental commorbidies. Study Design and Participants: a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 48 adult patients diagnosed with epilepsy at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital from June 2022 to September 2023. Patients self-assessed using the PHQ-9 (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire) to evaluate depression (cutoff ≥ 10 points) and the GAD-7 (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale) to assess anxiety (cutoff > 6 points). Additionally, question 9 in the PHQ-9 was used to evaluate suicidal ideation. Results: In our cohort, the average age was 28,56 years and females accounted for 60.42%. The majority had focal onset seizures (83.33%), were drug-resistant (64.58%), exhibited abnormal electroencephalography (72.92%), had abnormal magnetic resonance imaging findings (56.25%) with identifiable causes. Our observations revealed the following rates of depression anxiety and suicidal ideation were 27.1%, 52.10% and 16.7%, respectively. Additionally, 8.33% of patients experienced all three commorbid disorders, and over 20% had two or more disorders. Risk factors for depression included older age, recent seizures, and Valproate use. However, those for anxiety were not clearly determined. Age > 25 and disease duration > 5 years were associated with suicidal ideation. Conclusion: Depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation are common among epilepsy patients. The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scales are useful when applied in clinical settings to screen for these abovementioned disorders and to coordinate treatment plans with mental health specialists. The extended similar research with a larger cohort and interventional one on drug or non-drug interventions should be done.