Depressive Symptoms in Older versus Younger People with Epilepsy: Findings from an Integrated Epilepsy Self-Management Clinical Research Dataset

• Main Authors: Khalid Z, Momotaz H, Briggs F, Cassidy KA, Chaytor NS, Fraser RT, Janevic MR, Jobst B, Johnson EK, Scal P, Spruill TM, Wilson BK, Sajatovic M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2019-12-01
• Series: Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
• Subjects: epilepsy; self-management; depression; quality of life; database
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/depressive-symptoms-in-older-versus-younger-people-with-epilepsy-findi-peer-reviewed-article-JMDH

Zaira Khalid,1 Hasina Momotaz,2 Farren Briggs,3 Kristin A Cassidy,1,2 Naomi S Chaytor,4 Robert T Fraser,5 Mary R Janevic,6 Barbara Jobst,7 Erica K Johnson,8 Peter Scal,9 Tanya M Spruill,10 Betsy K Wilson,2 Martha Sajatovic1,2 1Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center , Cleveland, OH, USA; 2Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Neurological and Behavioral Outcomes Center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA; 3Department of Population Health and Quantitative Science, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; 4Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA; 5Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; 6Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; 7Department of Neurology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA; 8Health Promotion Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; 9Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; 10Department of Population Health, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USACorrespondence: Martha SajatovicPrevention Research Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, 10524 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USATel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]: There are limited data on psychological outcomes in older people with epilepsy (PWE). This analysis, from a large pooled dataset of clinical studies from the Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network, examined clinical variables including depressive symptom severity, quality of life and epilepsy self-management competency among older (age 55+) vs younger (<age 55) PWE. We were particularly interested in differences between older vs younger individuals with clinically significant depression.Methods: Analyses used baseline data from 9 MEW Network studies and examined demographic and clinical variables. Older vs younger individuals were compared and then we assessed groups with clinically significant depression vs those without clinically significant depression using the PHQ-9 and QOLIE-10 as a measure of quality of life.Results: The sample included 935 individuals. Compared to younger adults (n=774), the older group (n=161) had a better quality of life (p= 0.041) and more individuals without clinically significant depression (p=0.038). There was a trend for slightly lower depression severity scores (PHQ-9 total) (p=0.07) in the older group and a trend for fewer seizures (p=0.055) in older adults relative to younger adults.Conclusion: Compared to younger PWE, older PWE have less clinically significant depression and better quality of life. Future research needs to identify possible mechanisms underlying these differences.Keywords: epilepsy, self-management, depression, quality of life, database