Depression and associated factors among people with epilepsy at Wolaita Sodo University Hospital, South Ethiopia

Background Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in the world and contributed to various psychiatric illnesses. Depression is one of the most frequent co morbid psychiatric disorders that affect the quality of life in patients with epilepsy. Despite this impact depression continues to be under-recognized and undertreated. Therefore this study amid to assess the magnitude of depression and its associated factors among patients with epilepsy at Wolaita sodo university hospital, South Ethiopia 2021. Methods A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted from April 2021-May 2021. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 423 samples of patients with epilepsy and interviewer administrated structured questionnaires was employed. Patient Health Questionnaire with 9-items was used to assess depression. Logistic regression model was used to determine the association between the outcome and independent variables. A 95% CI and Odds ratio with corresponding p-value < 0.05 were used to determine the strength of association. Result The overall magnitude of depression among epileptic patients in this study was 49.2%. Educational status; unable to read and write (AOR = 3.43, 95%CI:1.09,10.7), being female (AOR = 2.54, 95%CI:1.43,4.52), perceived stigma (AOR = 5.96, 95%CI:2.88,12.3), poor social support (AOR = 2.88, 95%CI:1.28, 6.48), poor medication adherence (AOR = 4.60, 95%CI: 2.46,8.63), seizure frequency of 6 times per month (AOR = 5.59, 95%CI:1.72, 18.1) were independent predictors of depression among patients with epilepsy at p-value < 0.05. Conclusion and recommendation: In this study nearly half of the patient with epilepsy had depression. Educational status; unable to read and write, being female, perceived stigma, poor social support, poor medication adherence, seizure frequency of 6 times per month were independent predictors of depression among patients with epilepsy. Therefore screening depression in epileptic patients and appropriate management critically needed attention to reduce the effects of the problems.