Depression is associated with perceived likelihood of carrying an epilepsy-related mutation among individuals without epilepsy in families containing multiple affected individuals, a recent study found. A self-administered survey was completed by 417 individuals in 104 families, averaging 4 individuals with epilepsy per family. Researchers measured current depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire. They found:

• Prevalence of current depression was 14.8% in 182 individuals with epilepsy, 6.5% in 184 biologic relatives without epilepsy, and 3.9% in 51 individuals married into the families.
• Among individuals with epilepsy, depression was unrelated to genetic attribution.
• Among biologic relatives without epilepsy, however, prevalence of depression increased with increasing perceived chance of having an epilepsy-related mutation.
• The association was not mediated by perceived future epilepsy risk among relatives without epilepsy.