Depression in a community-dwelling sample of older adults with late-onset or lifetime epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders of late adulthood, yet little research has examined the impact of epilepsy in an older population, particularly in relation to depression. It has been argued that the symptomatology of interictal depression closely resembles that of dysthymia; however, our understanding of depression in older people with epilepsy is generalized from younger populations. This study examined the prevalence and symptomatology of depression, using both self-report and clinical interview, in a community-dwelling group of older adults with epilepsy compared with an age-matched control group. An additional aim of the study was to determine if a self-reported history of depression was a predictor of late-onset (after 55 years) epilepsy. Among the epilepsy group, 40.6% reported symptoms of depression that were congruent with dysthymic-like disorder of epilepsy; however, no relationship was apparent between prior depression and late-onset epilepsy.