Severity of anxiety and depression are related to a higher perception of adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs

AbstractAfter reviewing the negative effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on general health and quality of life, the Commission on Outcome Measurement from the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) recommended incorporating reliable and valid tools in clinical essays in order to achieve a more accurate assessment of the subjective adverse effects rate and disease severity when using AEDs.PurposeThe aim of this study was to correlate the severity of adverse effects of AEDs, with the presence of anxiety and depression in patients with epilepsy.MethodsThe Spanish version of the Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were applied on 130 consecutive outpatients with epilepsy from the epilepsy clinic at the Mexico's National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery. A correlation analysis was carried out to determine if the presence of depression and anxiety was related to the adverse effects of AEDs. The relation between LAEP scores with other epidemiological variables was also assessed.ResultsOur study found a positive correlation between the LAEP and the HADS scores (p=