Mario Tombini1, Giovanni Assenza2, Livia Quintiliani3, Lorenzo Ricci2, Jacopo Lanzone2, Vincenzo Di Lazzaro2. 1. Unit of Neurology, Neurophysiology, Neurobiology, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy. m.tombini@unicampus.it. 2. Unit of Neurology, Neurophysiology, Neurobiology, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy. 3. Psicologia Clinica, Università Campus Bio-Medico, via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To assess quality of life (QoL) in adult people with epilepsy (PWE) and identify the main factors affecting it. METHODS: We enrolled consecutively 122 PWE. They were interviewed for a careful collection of demographic and clinical data. Patients completed dedicated questionnaires for the assessment of the quality of life (Quality of Life in Epilepsy Scale-31) (Q31) as well as psychosocial features: depressive symptoms (DS) (Beck Depression Inventory-II/BDI-II), difficulties of emotion regulation (Difficulties of Emotion Regulation Scale/DERS), and stigma related to epilepsy (Stigma Scale of Epilepsy/SSE and Jacoby's Stigma Scale/JSS). The results of Q31 and their subscales were correlated with clinical details of PWE, as well as the other scores. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied to identify the main factors affecting QoL. RESULTS: Quality of life is inversely correlated mostly with psychosocial features, as DS, emotion dysregulation, and stigma perception, as well as with epilepsy-related factors, as the seizure frequency and number of antiseizure medications (ASMs). The combination of DS, perceived stigma, and number of ASMs best explained the QoL. Worse features of QoL were detected in females and in patients with age of epilepsy onset in adulthood. CONCLUSION: Quality of life in adult PWE is predominantly affected by psychosocial factors more than epilepsy-related ones. These findings suggest that effective epilepsy management requires more than seizure control, and early detection of psychological dysfunction and tailored interventions to improve the QoL should be considered.
PURPOSE: To assess quality of life (QoL) in adult people with epilepsy (PWE) and identify the main factors affecting it. METHODS: We enrolled consecutively 122 PWE. They were interviewed for a careful collection of demographic and clinical data. Patients completed dedicated questionnaires for the assessment of the quality of life (Quality of Life in Epilepsy Scale-31) (Q31) as well as psychosocial features: depressive symptoms (DS) (Beck Depression Inventory-II/BDI-II), difficulties of emotion regulation (Difficulties of Emotion Regulation Scale/DERS), and stigma related to epilepsy (Stigma Scale of Epilepsy/SSE and Jacoby's Stigma Scale/JSS). The results of Q31 and their subscales were correlated with clinical details of PWE, as well as the other scores. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied to identify the main factors affecting QoL. RESULTS: Quality of life is inversely correlated mostly with psychosocial features, as DS, emotion dysregulation, and stigma perception, as well as with epilepsy-related factors, as the seizure frequency and number of antiseizure medications (ASMs). The combination of DS, perceived stigma, and number of ASMs best explained the QoL. Worse features of QoL were detected in females and in patients with age of epilepsy onset in adulthood. CONCLUSION: Quality of life in adult PWE is predominantly affected by psychosocial factors more than epilepsy-related ones. These findings suggest that effective epilepsy management requires more than seizure control, and early detection of psychological dysfunction and tailored interventions to improve the QoL should be considered.
Entities:
Keywords:
Depressive symptoms; Epilepsy; Psychosocial factors; Quality of life; Stigma
Authors: Mario Tombini; Giovanni Assenza; Livia Quintiliani; Lorenzo Ricci; Jacopo Lanzone; Roberta De Mojà; Martina Ulivi; Vincenzo Di Lazzaro Journal: Epilepsy Behav Date: 2019-07-09 Impact factor: 2.937