Depression, anxiety levels and sleep quality indexes among the spouses of people with epilepsy

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric problems and sleep disturbances are comorbidities that are frequently encountered among people with epilepsy. However, their presence among the spouses of peoples with epilepsy remains to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the spouses of people with epilepsy (PWE), with and without a history of seizures during sleep, in terms of depression, anxiety and sleep quality. METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in three groups of 18 to 65-year-olds. Group 1 consisted of healthy spouses of 127 healthy volunteers without any known neurological disease; group 2 comprised spouses of 63 PWE who had no history of seizure during sleep; and group 3 consisted of spouses of 63 PWE who had a history of at least one seizure during sleep in the course of the previous year. Questionnaires seeking demographic data and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory were applied to all participants. RESULTS: The depression scores of the group of spouses of PWE were higher than those of the control group and were higher in group 3 than in group 2 (p = 0.017). The anxiety scores of the group of spouses of PWE were significantly higher than those of the control group, but no difference in anxiety scores was found between group 2 and group 3 (p = 0.170). The mean PSQI score of group 3 was higher than that of group 2 (p = 0.029). However, regression analyses did not show any difference between these groups. CONCLUSION: We found that the PSQI scores, which reflected sleep quality, were higher among the spouses of PWE who had seizures during sleep and who had more severe epilepsy.