Correlates of depression and quality of life among patients with epilepsy in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Objectives To determine the prevalence of Major Depressive Disorders (MDD) and its relationship to Quality of life. Design A cross-sectional observational study. Setting Out-Patient Clinic of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Subjects Patients with diagnosis of Epilepsy with Electroencephalogram (EEG) confirmation. Outcome measures Depression and Quality of life. Results The prevalence of current MDD was 11.9%, and patients having at least 1 seizure per week were 5 times more likely to develop MDD (OR = 5.104, p = 0.014). The mean (SD) QOLIE-31 scores was 77.98 (13.32), with presence of MDD (β = -11.101, p = 0.0001); having at least 1 seizure/week (β = -6.653, p = 0.037) being independent predictors. Conclusion Depression is a common comorbidity in patients with epilepsy and is associated with a lower quality of life.