Anxiety and depression in children with new-onset epilepsy: Parent vs. child perspectives - six-month follow-up study

Introduction/Objective. Common internalizing symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, in school-age children with new-onset epilepsy, may not be immediately evident and can be misinterpreted by parents. This study compares how school-age children with epilepsy and their parents view the children's anxiety and depression, following previous findings that internalizing symptoms are common six months after diagnosis. Methods. The study was conducted at the University Children's Hospital in Belgrade, Serbia, with assessments performed after diagnosis and again six months later. After obtaining informed consent, children and their parents independently filled out the RCADS questionnaire. Paired t-tests assessed changes in scores from baseline to six months, with p < 0.05 considered significant. Results. Throughout the entire group over the six-month follow-up period, all RCADS scores, as well as self-report and parent ratings, showed significant increases. The most notable increases are seen in the subscales of social phobia from self-assessment and panic disorder from parent assessments (p < 0.01). Conclusion. Six-month follow-up of internalizing symptoms in our cohort of school-age patients with new-onset, uncomplicated epilepsy has shown that their parents are not sufficiently aware of the symptoms of social phobia, separation, and generalized anxiety, as well as OCD, although their symptoms become significant after six months. Parents need to be taught to recognize their children's emotions and to seek psychological help when necessary.