Improving epilepsy treatment at GP level - screening for depression
Grant round winners 2008
At least one in every eight people with
epilepsy also has depression. Depression
contributes to poor quality of life for
people with epilepsy, yet epilepsy services
at all levels (GPs, hospitals and specialist
consultants) seem to rarely detect it. They
tend to focus instead on seizure control
and drug side effects.
However, there is some evidence that links
having depression with having poor seizure
control: the depression may increase a person's
likelihood of having seizures. This means
that people with epilepsy who are also depressed
may stand a better chance of becoming seizure-free
if their depression is also detected and
treated.
In a pilot study Identifying depression
in people with epilepsy attending their
general practitioners, Professor
Mike Kerr, of the Welsh Centre for Learning
Disabilities at Cardiff University, will
investigate whether two short and specific
questionnaires could help GPs and their
teams detect depression in people with epilepsy.
The study will test whether the questionnaires
are quick and easy enough to be used as
part of the normal appointment with a GP,
and also whether they can accurately identify
depression in a person with epilepsy. Epilepsy
Research UK is providing £74,268
funding for the work over 24 months.
If the questionnaires work then screening
for depression could become part of the
standard services GPs provide for people
with epilepsy in the NHS. Screening for
depression is already part of standard treatment
for diabetes and coronary heart disease
in the UK.
