Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Anxiety and Depression in Youth with Epilepsy

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide an estimate of the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders in youth with epilepsy (YWE). It also aimed to calculate the overall magnitude of observed differences in anxiety and depressive symptoms reported by YWE compared with healthy controls and investigate whether any factors moderated anxiety and depression outcomes in YWE. Methods: Following prospective registration, electronic databases were searched up until October 2018. Studies were included if they reported on the rate of anxiety or depression in samples of YWE, and/or if they used valid measures of anxious or depressive symptomatology in YWE compared with a healthy control sample. Results: Twenty-three studies met inclusion criteria. The overall pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders in YWE was 18.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 12.0%-28.5%), and for depression the pooled prevalence was 13.5% (95% CI 8.8%-20.2%). In samples of YWE compared with healthy controls, significantly higher anxiety (d = 0.57, 95% CI 0.32-0.83, p