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Screening and Management of Depression and Anxiety in People With Epilepsy: A Quality Improvement Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2025

Imane Injar*
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), 900 St-Denis Street, Montreal, QC, Canada
Mark Keezer
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), 900 St-Denis Street, Montreal, QC, Canada Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Samuel Lapalme-Remis
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), 900 St-Denis Street, Montreal, QC, Canada Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Laury Chamelian
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), 900 St-Denis Street, Montreal, QC, Canada Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Elie Bou Assi
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), 900 St-Denis Street, Montreal, QC, Canada Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Dang Khoa Nguyen
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), 900 St-Denis Street, Montreal, QC, Canada Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
*
Corresponding author: Imane Injar; Email: imane.injar@umontreal.ca
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Abstract

Background:

Due to the high prevalence of depression and anxiety in people with epilepsy, the International League Against Epilepsy Commission on the Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Epilepsy recommends implementing routine screening for depression and anxiety symptoms. Our epilepsy group began administering three screening questionnaires to all clinic patients in 2016: the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7).

Objective:

We aim to review our experience with this screening approach.

Methods:

We reviewed 2253 sets of questionnaires completed from January 2018 to March 2020 and studied the actions taken by epileptologists in response to a positive screening.

Results:

Thirty-six percent of all assessed patients screened positive on at least one questionnaire: 13.6% screened positive for depression symptoms (NDDI-E ≥ 16), 12.3% for anxiety symptoms (BAI ≥ 22) and 30.3% for GAD symptoms (GAD-7 > 7). Among patients with a positive screening, 36% received a care intervention, 59% did not and 5% declined the neurologist’s recommendation. Among patients for whom an intervention was implemented, 58% were referred to a mental health professional (generally a neuropsychiatrist), 29% had their antiseizure medication adjusted to alleviate their symptoms and 13% received another intervention.

Conclusion:

In our clinic, an important proportion of patients screened positive for depression and/or anxiety symptoms. Fewer than half received a management option to alleviate their symptoms. We conclude that while routine screening increases the detection of depression and anxiety among epilepsy patients, it must be accompanied by effective interventions and access to mental-health professionals.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

La dépression et l’anxiété sont fréquentes chez les personnes atteintes d’épilepsie.

Contexte :

Dans ce contexte, la Ligue internationale contre l’épilepsie recommande le dépistage systématique de ces symptômes. En 2016, nous avons instauré dans notre clinique d’épilepsie un dépistage de routine à l’aide de trois questionnaires : le Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E), le Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) et le Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7).

Objectif :

Décrire notre expérience clinique avec ce dépistage systématique.

Méthodes :

Nous avons analysé 2253 questionnaires complétés entre janvier 2018 et mars 2020, ainsi que les interventions des épileptologues après un résultat de dépistage positif.

Résultats :

Trente-six pourcent des patients ont obtenu un résultat positif à au moins un questionnaire. Des symptômes de dépression ont été identifiés chez 13,6 % des patients (NDDI-E ≥ 16), des symptômes d’anxiété chez 12,3 % (BAI ≥ 22) et des symptômes d’anxiété généralisée chez 30,3 % (GAD-7 > 7). Parmi les patients ayant un dépistage positif, 36 % ont bénéficié d’une prise en charge clinique, tandis que 59 % n’en ont pas reçu et que 5 % ont refusé la recommandation du neurologue. L’intervention la plus fréquente est la référence à un professionnel de santé mentale (58 %). La médication anticrise a été modifiée chez 29 % des patients, et 13 % ont bénéficié d’une autre forme d’intervention.

Conclusion :

Bien que le dépistage systématique permette une meilleure identification des symptômes anxiodépressifs chez les personnes atteintes d’épilepsie, son impact clinique demeure limité sans interventions adaptées et un accès adéquat aux ressources en santé mentale.

Information

Type
Original Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation
Figure 0

Figure 1. Summary of data analysis method.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Flow chart of number of NDDI-E, BAI and GAD-7 scores. NDDI-E = Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy; BAI = Beck Anxiety Inventory; GAD-7 = Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7.

Figure 2

Figure 3. Distribution of score results. A) NDDI-E. B) BAI. C) GAD-7. NDDI-E = Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy; BAI = Beck Anxiety Inventory; GAD-7 = Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7.

Figure 3

Figure 4. Management following a positive screening. (A) Response to a positive screening. (B) Type of management options among patients who received an intervention. (C) Referrals to healthcare professionals following a positive screening.

Figure 4

Table 1. Adjustments in antiseizure medication to achieve seizure control and manage depression and anxiety symptoms

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