Physical Exercise, Stressful Life Experience, and Depression in Adults with Epilepsy

Abstract

Adults with epilepsy completed self-report measures of exercise participation, barriers to exercise, stressful life experience, depression, and general psychosocial adjustment (n = 133) as part of routine outpatient visits. Descriptive statistics showed lower levels of depression among patients who exercised regularly. Structural equation analyses confirmed the fit of a path model that included significant direct effects of exercise and stressful life experience on depression. These effects were independent of each other, and independent of the influence of other predictor variables, such as seizure frequency, age, and gender. Stressful life experience also had a direct unique effect on seizure frequency in the multivariate models. These results suggest that problems with depression, which are common in adults with epilepsy, are significantly lower among those who exercise regularly and avoid stressful life change.

Low levels of maximal aerobic power impair the profile of mood state in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy

“…Consistent with this, mood disturbances are more prevalent among sedentary rather than physically active individuals 27 . In this regard, Roth et al 15 analyzed the effect of physical activity on depression levels in adults with epilepsy and found that active individuals were less depressed compared to sedentary individuals. Recently, de Lima et al 16 demonstrated that people with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy presented higher levels of mood disturbances when compared to healthy subjects.…”

“…Comparison of C and TLE groups on the Profile of Mood States (POMS) scores domains. activity is a non-pharmacological therapy which can provide health benefits such as reduction in the risk of cardiovascular and endocrine diseases, improvement in bone and muscle conditioning 25 , and prevention of psychological and emotional disturbances 10,15,17,26 . Consistent with this, mood disturbances are more prevalent among sedentary rather than physically active individuals 27 .…”

“…Regular physical activity has been proposed as a positive coping strategy in the management of patients with epilepsy that are diagnosed with mood disorders 13,14 . Roth et al 15 reported that individuals with epilepsy are more predisposed to mood disorders and that exercise might minimize this predisposition. Recently, de Lima et al 16 reported that the level of physical activity in leisure time can predict mood state disorders in epilepsy.…”

Transition: Driving and exercise

“…13 Exercise programs for people with epilepsy appear to decrease the common comorbidities of anxiety and depression and improve quality of life, although the longest intervention study lasted only 12 weeks. [15][16][17] Despite incomplete information, discussions and guidance about exercise remain an important part of the transition process. During school age in many countries, exercise and sports are part of the school curriculum.…”

“…In a study of a teenage clinic, 207 patients (aged [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] were referred with "definite or probable epilepsy." 3 Epilepsy was the eventual diagnosis in 173 (84%).…”