Severity of depressive symptomatology and functional impairment in children and adolescents with temporal lobe epilepsy

Author(s)

Pereira, Adriana ^[1] ; Valente, Kette D. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Clin Neurophysiol Lab, Inst & Dept Psychiat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, LIM 21, Lab Neuroimage Neuropsychiat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo Appl Neurosci, NAPNA Res Support Ctr, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SEIZURE-EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPILEPSY; v. 22, n. 9, p. 708-712, NOV 2013.
• Web of Science Citations: 7

Abstract

Objective: Depression is a frequent psychiatric disorder in children with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). However, severity of depressive symptoms (DS) is frequently neglected in these patients. This study aimed to determine severity of DS and global functioning by using quantitative measures and to establish their correlation with patients' demographics and clinical variables. Methods: 31 children (mean age of 11.8 +/- 2.3 years) with TLE were assessed with K-SADS-PL for axis I DSM-IV diagnosis. Severity of DS was measured by Children Depression Rating Scale-Revised - CDRS-R. Global functional impairment was evaluated with Child Global Assessment Scale-CGAS. Results: 25 patients (56% boys; 12 +/- 2.3 years) had current DS, moderate or severe in 84% according to CDRS-R T-Score. Severity of DS was not correlated with age (p = 0.377), gender (p = 0.132), seizure control (p = 0.936), age of onset (p = 0.731), duration of epilepsy (p = 0.602) and the presence of hippocampal sclerosis (p = 0.614). Patients had moderate to major functional impairment measured by CGAS (48.7 +/- 8.8), being adolescents more impaired than children (p = 0.03). Impairment of global functioning was not associated with epilepsy variables (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Children with TLE had moderate to severe DS early in the course of their disease with a relevant impact on their global functional activities, especially considering adolescents. Epilepsy severity seems not to be correlated to the severity of DS, contradicting the idea of a cause-consequence relationship. More systematic research is needed to better understand the association of depressive disorders in children and adolescents with TLE. (C) 2013 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 05/56464-9 - Neuroscience Imaging Center at University of São Paulo Medical School
• Grantee: Giovanni Guido Cerri
• Support Opportunities: Inter-institutional Cooperation in Support of Brain Research (CINAPCE) - Thematic Grants