A - 90 Assessment Methods for Anxiety in Epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: Anxiety is disproportionately common in people with epilepsy, however, the optimal tool to screen for assessment of anxiety in epilepsy has not been definitively established. This study aims to assess if a long questionnaire such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) is necessary for identifying and quantifying anxiety symptoms in patients with epilepsy or if the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) will suffice as a screening measure.

METHOD: Retrospective data were analyzed from a neuropsychology registry of patients with epilepsy (N = 317; 136 male, 181 female). As proposed by Kenfack et al, 2022, patients that scored ≥16 on the BAI were cross tabulated with patients identified by the MMPI-2-RF as having T-scores ≥65 on scales EID (emotional/internalizing dysfunction), RC7 (dysfunctional negative emotions), STW (stress/worry), AXY (anxiety), and RC1(somatic complaints). Multiple chi square tests with alpha set at.05 were performed to examine the relationship between BAI and MMPI-2-RF indices in identifying anxiety in patients with epilepsy.

RESULTS: As shown in Table 1, scores above the cutoff on the BAI were significantly associated with scores falling above the cutoffs for all of the MMPI-2-RF anxiety indices (EID, RC1, RC7, STW, & AXY).

CONCLUSION: The diagnostic value of the BAI is similar to that of MMPI-2-RF subscales commonly used to assess anxiety. The findings provide support for using the BAI for screening anxiety symptoms in patients with epilepsy undergoing neuropsychological assessment. Keywords: Anxiety, Epilepsy, MMPI-2-RF, BAI.