Condition,Mental Health And Psychosocial Problems Of Patients With Epilepsy During The COVID-19 Epidemic In China

Background and aimsEpilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases,which can be affected by all ages,and there are about 50 million patients worldwide.Most patients with epilepsy have one or more comorbidities.The most common Somatic comorbidities include migraine,dementia,cardiovascular disease,obstructive sleep apnea,anemia and bone fractures,and the most common psychological comorbidities include anxiety,depression and sleep disorders.Comorbidities of epilepsy,such as anxiety,depression and sleep disorders have a great impact on adult patients with epilepsy,and can even exceed the short-term effects of seizures.The relationship between epilepsy and its somatic and psychological comorbidities is complicated.Stress,psychological factors,and emotional can interact with seizures.High levels of anxiety,depression and stress are possibly positively related to seizures.In December 2019,a COVID-19 epidemic occurred in Wuhan City,Hubei Province,China,which caused a pandemic.On January 23,30 provinces in China successively launched the "Level I Response to Major Public Health Emergencies" to formulate and implement communities.Prevention and control measures are implemented in grid and carpet management.COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by a new type of coronavirus.It is usually accompanied by fever,dry cough and shortness of breath,as well as nervous system involvement.Anorexia,loss of smell and taste,headaches are common,and the most serious neurological manifestations are encephalopathy and stroke.In order to explore and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the condition and psychosocial functions of patients with epilepsy,we investigate a cross-sectional study in Shandong Province and compare the impact of COVID-19 on patients with epilepsy and healthy people.Investigate about epilepsy,medical treatment,and psychosocial problems of patients with epilepsy,and provide medical consultation for patients with epilepsy through telephone and video interviews.MethodsDuring the COVID-19 epidemic,89 epilepsy patients and 89 healthy controls were enrolled in the outpatient department of Neurology,Qilu Hospital of Shandong University through the inclusion and exclusion criteria,and the questionnaire was filled out by a combination of outpatient and online methods,including basic information,types of epilepsy,frequency and time of seizures,whether there is drug withdrawal due to epidemic drug supply problems,whether there is recurrence of epilepsy or status epilepticus,and analyze their anxiety,depression and sleep qualities through the HAMA,HAMD and PSQI scales.A follow-up questionnaire survey was conducted on the epilepsy group after 6 months.ResultsA total of 89 epilepsy patients participated in the questionnaire survey.One patient failed to complete the follow-up visit after 6 months due to self-discontinuation of the AEDs,presented with status epilepticus.3 patients withdrew from the trial because of lost to the follow-up after 6 months.1 patient was excluded from the trial for concealing a history of alcoholism In the end,a total of 85 epilepsy patients met the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria,and completed the follow-up during the epidemic and 6 months later.There was no statistically significant difference between the epilepsy group and the control group in terms of gender,age,education level,work status and monthly income(p>0.05).A total of 26(30.6%)patients felt that the frequency of seizures had increased duting the COVID-19 epidemic compared with that before the epidemic,and 12 people stopped taking AEDs during the COVID-19 period.The scores of anxiety,depression and sleep qualities in the epilepsy group after the epidemic were lower than those during the epidemic,and the HAMA scale scores before and after the epidemic were statistically significant(p<0.001).In the epilepsy group during the epidemic,compared with the control group of the same number of healthy people,the average score of the HAMA scale and the number of people who may be anxious in the epilepsy group were higher than those in the control group,and it was statistically significant(p<0.05).ConclusionDuring COVID-19,patients with epilepsy may have anxiety and sleep problems,which are more obvious than those of healthy people.After 6 months of follow-up,With the control of the COVID-19 in China,the anxiety score of people with epilepsy was significantly reduced.During the epidemic,health professionals should not only pay attention to control seizures,but also pay attention to the mental health of patients with epilepsy.For severe cases,it is recommended to seek help from psychiatrists.