Objectives

COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare services for chronic disorders such as epilepsy. In this study, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on persons with epilepsy (PWE) with regard to their seizure control, depression status, and medication adherence was assessed.

Methods

After ethical clearance, 449 PWE who had been previously evaluated for depression at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India, were telephonically revaluated using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and surveyed for source of medication and medication adherence over past 6 months. The prevalence and the association of depression, suicidality, and seizures during pandemic with different PWE variables were determined.

Results

Out of 449 PWE, 70.6% responded. 19.9% were diagnosed positive for depression as per MINI while suicidal ideation was observed in 5.4%. Seventy six (23.9%) PWE reported seizures during pandemic. The incidence was greater in females, unemployed, previously uncontrolled epilepsy, polytherapy, altered use of medications, and depressed PWE. Seizure during pandemic, increased seizure frequency, previous history of depression, and altered use of medications were all significantly associated with depression during COVID-19 pandemic (2.6–95%CI, 1.45–4.73; 1.9–95%CI, 1.01–3.57; 8.8–95%CI, 4.54–17.21; 2.9–95%CI, 1.19–7.24), and polytherapy (2.9–95%CI, 0.92–9.04), seizures during pandemic (3.9–95%CI, 1.45–10.53) and previous history of depression and suicidality, were related with suicidal ideation.

Conclusion

COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruptions can be detrimental for PWE, and restoring services to the precovid levels as well as putting appropriate continuity plans in place for care of PWE should be a priority.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间癫痫患者抑郁和自杀意念的患病率：来自印度的一项纵向研究

 目标

COVID-19 大流行扰乱了癫痫等慢性疾病的医疗保健服务。在这项研究中，评估了 COVID-19 大流行对癫痫患者 (PWE) 的癫痫发作控制、抑郁状态和药物依从性的影响。

 方法

经过道德审查后，449 名之前曾在印度新德里全印度医学科学研究所 (AIIMS) 接受过抑郁症评估的 PWE 使用迷你国际神经精神访谈进行了电话重新评估，并调查了过去 6 个月的药物来源和药物依从性。确定了大流行期间抑郁、自杀和癫痫发作的患病率以及与不同 PWE 变量的关联。

 结果

在 449 名 PWE 中，70.6% 做出了回应。根据 MINI，19.9% 的人被诊断为抑郁症，而 5.4% 的人有自杀意念。 76 名 (23.9%) PWE 报告在大流行期间发生了癫痫发作。女性、失业、先前未受控制的癫痫、多疗法、改变药物使用和抑郁的 PWE 的发病率更高。大流行期间的癫痫发作、癫痫发作频率增加、既往抑郁史以及药物使用的改变均与 COVID-19 大流行期间的抑郁症显着相关（2.6–95%CI，1.45–4.73；1.9–95%CI，1.01–3.57； 8.8–95% CI, 4.54–17.21；2.9–95% CI, 1.19–7.24) 和多药治疗 (2.9–95% CI, 0.92–9.04)、大流行期间癫痫发作 (3.9–95% CI, 1.45–10.53) 和既往有抑郁症和自杀史，与自杀意念有关。

 结论

COVID-19 大流行引起的中断可能对 PWE 不利，因此应优先考虑将服务恢复到新冠疫情前的水平并制定适当的连续性计划来照顾 PWE。