Validation of the Chinese version of the Epilepsy Anxiety Survey Instrument (EASI) and its brief version (brEASI) in Western China

Chenshi Liu; Lan Mou; Yuwen Zhang; Mingming Zhang; Ping Yang; Shuai Ma; Min Zhang; Jie Huang; Xiaoqiang Xiao; Jie Liu

doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2025.01.004

Validation of the Chinese version of the Epilepsy Anxiety Survey Instrument (EASI) and its brief version (brEASI) in Western China

Seizure. 2025 Jan 3:125:87-93. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2025.01.004. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chenshi Liu¹, Lan Mou², Yuwen Zhang², Mingming Zhang², Ping Yang¹, Shuai Ma³, Min Zhang⁴, Jie Huang³, Xiaoqiang Xiao⁵, Jie Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Department of Neurology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
² Department of Neurology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
³ Department of Neurology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Department of Outpatient, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Department of Neurology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39817973
DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2025.01.004

Abstract

Objective: To translate and validate the Chinese version of the Epilepsy Anxiety Survey Instrument (EASI) and its brief version (brEASI) among Chinese people with epilepsy.

Methods: Adult outpatients from Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital were recruited. The type of anxiety disorder was determined via the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). All patients completed the Chinese version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorders-7 (GAD-7), the Chinese version of the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (C-NDDIE), and the EASI/brEASI. Cronbach's α coefficient was calculated, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed.

Results: A total of 110 patients with epilepsy were included. Twenty-six (23.6 %) patients were found to have anxiety disorder according to the MINI criteria. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the Chinese brEASI was 0.873. In the study, the AUC of the brEASI for detecting all anxiety disorders was 0.883, and the optimal cutoff score was > 7, with a sensitivity of 92.3 % and a specificity of 72.6 %. For the diagnosis of non-GAD disorders, the brEASI had a greater AUC (0. 886) and performed better than the GAD-7 (AUC = 0. 824).

Conclusion: The Chinese version of the EASI and brEASI may be reliable and superior to the GAD-7 for anxiety screening in patients with epilepsy.

Keywords: Anxiety; EASI; Epilepsy; Validation; brEASI.