Abstracts

Rationale: Besides having seizure disorder, children with epilepsy suffer from mental health problems and poor quality of life (QOL). Anxiety and depression in parents secondary to epilepsy related psychosocial stressors may be one of the contributing factors which may affect child's care and QOL. In addition, the quality of life of the parent, their productivity to the society may decrease. We aim to identify the frequency of depression and anxiety among parents of children with epilepsy (CWE) and to realize any correlation to demographics and clinical variables. Methods: Parents of 16 consecutive children with epilepsy (CWE) were recruited. The CWE did not have any additional major health problem; we also collected their demographics, epilepsy duration, treatment and seizure frequency. Following consent, parents were asked to complete Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire. Results: Thirty-one parents of 16 CWE (8 male & 8 females) were recruited. None of the parents had any history of psychiatric illness. The mean age of CWE was 77.9 months (range 8-156) and the mean duration (+ SD) of epilepsy was 30.5 (+ 31.7) months. Seizure in all but 2 children were either controlled or infrequent. Mother was the primary caregiver in all but one child. Fifty-five percent of parents (8/16 fathers, and 9/ 15 mothers) were found to be anxious and 38.7% (5/16 fathers & 7/15 mothers) depressed. Thirty two percent of the parents had both anxiety and depression. No significant association was seen with the child's age & gender, side effect of medications, duration or severity of epilepsy. Conclusions: Depression and anxiety was frequently seen in the parents of CWE, and should be addressed as a part of management plan.