Do early-life adversities predict anxiety and depressive symptoms in epileptic patients? A preliminary study

Introduction: There is clear evidence that anxiety and depressive disorders are more prevalent among epileptic patients (EPs) as compared with the general population. While numerous preclinical models have shown that early and prolonged exposure to stressful experiences increases seizure susceptibility and comorbid anxiety/depression-like behaviors in animals, the impact of early-life adversities on depression and anxiety has been hardly explored in human epilepsy. Methods: In this study, 60 EPs and 60 healthy controls (HCs) completed standardized surveys, including: the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Two hierarchical multiple linear regressions were run for both EPs and HCs, to determine the role of the factors that were significant at a 0.01 significance level in Pearson correlations in predicting anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Results: The analyses showed that anxiety symptoms were uniquely predicted by perceived stress, in both EPs and HCs. Depressive symptoms were instead uniquely predicted by adverse childhood experiences, only in EPs. Discussion: These results showed that, in EPs, perceived stress and early-life adversities play a distinct role in predicting anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. The results of this study – albeit preliminary – may have clinical implications, guiding the psychological intervention programs that could be designed, along with medical treatments, to mitigate the psychopathological (particularly, depressive) sequelae of early adverse experiences in EPs.