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Clinical predictors of discordance between screening tests and psychiatric assessment for depressive and anxiety disorders among patients being evaluated for seizure disorders
Author(s) -
Holper Sarah,
Foster Emma,
Lloyd Michael,
Rayner Genevieve,
Rychkova Maria,
Ali Rashida,
WintonBrown Toby T.,
Velakoulis Dennis,
O’Brien Terence J.,
Kwan Patrick,
Malpas Charles B.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/epi.16871
Subject(s) - anxiety , psychiatry , depression (economics) , false positive paradox , generalized anxiety disorder , major depressive episode , epilepsy , medicine , anxiety disorder , panic disorder , psychology , clinical psychology , cognition , machine learning , computer science , economics , macroeconomics
Objective This study was undertaken to identify factors that predict discordance between the screening instruments Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI‐E) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD‐7), and diagnoses made by qualified psychiatrists among patients with seizure disorders. Importantly, this is not a validation study; rather, it investigates clinicodemographic predictors of discordance between screening tests and psychiatric assessment. Methods Adult patients admitted for inpatient video‐electroencephalographic monitoring completed eight psychometric instruments, including the NDDI‐E and GAD‐7, and psychiatric assessment. Patients were grouped according to agreement between the screening instrument and psychiatrists’ diagnoses. Screening was "discordant" if the outcome differed from the psychiatrist's diagnosis, including both false positive and false negative results. Bayesian statistical analyses were used to identify factors associated with discordance. Results A total of 411 patients met inclusion criteria; mean age was 39.6 years, and 55.5% ( n = 228) were female. Depression screening was discordant in 33% of cases ( n = 136/411), driven by false positives ( n = 76/136, 56%) rather than false negatives ( n = 60/136, 44%). Likewise, anxiety screening was discordant in one third of cases ( n = 121/411, 29%) due to false positives ( n = 60/121, 50%) and false negatives ( n = 61/121, 50%). Seven clinical factors were predictive of discordant screening for both depression and anxiety: greater dissociative symptoms, greater patient‐reported adverse events, subjective cognitive impairment, negative affect, detachment, disinhibition, and psychoticism. When the analyses were restricted to only patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) or epilepsy, the rate of discordant depression screening was higher in the PNES group ( n = 29, 47%) compared to the epilepsy group ( n = 70, 30%, Bayes factor for the alternative hypothesis = 4.65). Significance Patients with seizure disorders who self‐report a variety of psychiatric and other symptoms should be evaluated more thoroughly for depression and anxiety, regardless of screening test results, especially if they have PNES and not epilepsy. Clinical assessment by a qualified psychiatrist remains essential in diagnosing depressive and anxiety disorders among such patients.