Psychosocial problem of people with epilepsy in Ulaanbaatar of Mongolia

Abstract

Background Epilepsy is a common neurological disease, which need to health care and public health service topicality that is a very important for people with epilepsy (PWE). Purpose To investigate psychosocial problem of the people with epilepsy. Method 77 patients were included in our study. In order to identify psychosocial problems we used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and a ten-item measure of felt stigma for this cross-sectional study. Result There were 46.8% female, 44.2% were married, 75.3% unemployment. The frequencies of anxiety symptoms in PWE were 31.2% very anxiety, 32.5% anxiety and 36.4% not anxiety, the rates of depressive symptoms in PWE were 18.2% very depressed, 19.5% depressed and 62.3% not depressed, respectively. All of the 62.3% PWE felt stigma. Considering the age, psychological problem, some of the variables of the participants, the age of the people with epilepsy was associated with depression and the stigma scores, negatively. (r= -0.2 p=0.05; r = -0.2 p=0.05). There are relationships between stigma and anxiety, depression, social-interaction of the attitude scores in PWE. (r= 0.5 p= 0.01; r= 0.5 p= 0.01; r=0.4 p= 0.01). Whereas that the correlation statistic did not indicate a relationship between the duration of the epilepsy and anxiety, depression, stigma and social-interaction’s scores Conclusion This reveals that it has positive relationship with social-interaction and attitude. Frequency of epileptic seizures induces the anxiety and depression of the people with epilepsy and thus worsens their stigmatization.