Illness perceptions mediate the relationship between depression and quality of life in patients with epilepsy |
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| Authors: | Amanda J. Shallcross Danielle A. Becker Anuradha Singh Daniel Friedman Jacqueline Montesdeoca Jacqueline French Orrin Devinsky Tanya M. Spruill |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Medicine, Department of Population Health, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A;2. Department of Neurology, Penn Epilepsy Center, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A;3. School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A |
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| Abstract: | The current study examined whether negative illness perceptions help explain the link between depression and quality of life. Seventy patients with epilepsy completed standardized self‐report questionnaires measuring depression, illness perception, and quality of life (QOL). Illness perception statistically mediated the relationship between depression and QOL (Indirect effect (CI; confidence interval) = ?.72, lower limit = ?1.7, upper limit = ?.22, p < .05). Results held with and without adjusting for potential confounding variables (age, sex, ethnicity, income, and seizure frequency) and when operationalizing depression as a continuous variable that indexed severity of symptoms or as a dichotomous variable that indexed criteria consistent with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. This study is the first to suggest that illness perceptions may be a useful target in screening and intervention approaches in order to improve QOL among low‐income, racially/ethnically diverse patients with epilepsy. |
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| Keywords: | Depression Illness Perceptions Quality of Life |
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