Bereket Duko*, Abebe Tamirat, Tariku Mengesha and Mebratu Mathewos
Background: Depression is highly prevalent in epileptic patients. It was the most frequent co-morbid psychiatric disorder in patients with epilepsy. Its prevalence had estimated to range between 20-50% of patients. There are limited studies which showed the magnitude of depression among epileptic patient in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of depressive symptom and associated factors among patients with epilepsy attending Adare General Hospital, Hawassa, Ethiopia, 2017.
Methods: Institution based cross sectional study design was conducted among 114 patients with epilepsy who were selected by using convenience sampling technique. Data was collected through face to face interviews by trained data collectors using patient health questionnaire item nine (PHQ-9). Data was entered and analysed by using SPSS Version 22. Level of significance was determined by using p<0.05.
Results: A total of 114 participants were recruited for study. The mean age of respondents was 27.60± (SD=7.91) years. The prevalence of unrecognized depressive symptom was 34.2%. Age [18-24 year (AOR=6.89, 95% CI (1.29, 12.78)], Poor social support [AOR=7.5, 95% CI (1.89, 9.79)], Sex (Female (AOR=7.54, 95% CI (1.34, 12.42) and being unemployed [AOR=3.09, 95% CI (1.19, 10.51) have statistically significant association with unrecognized depressive symptom.
Conclusion: Overall the prevalence of depression was found to be high (34.2%). Age, poor social support, being female, and unemployment were factors associated with depressive symptom. The current finding emphasized need for proper psychiatric evaluation for overall management of patient with epilepsy. Further study is recommended to identify associated factors of depressive symptoms.