Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological condition in developing years that can negatively impact one's physical, social and emotional function. Aim of Study: The aim of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its predictors in children with epilepsy in Egypt, comparing the relationship between different types of seizures and the HRQOL and increasing the awareness of the importance of assessing physical, psychosocial, and behavioral well-being of children with epilepsy in Egypt. Patients and Methods: To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its predictors in children with epilepsy in Egypt during the period from August 2019 and December 2019. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Ain Shams Neurology Department and included 75 children with epilepsy of 11-18 years. The tools used to assess children's QOL were pediatric QOL questionnaires. Parents' QOL was assessed using SF36 inventory. Results: Children with epilepsy have an affected quality of life according to the PedQOL assessment tool with a mean PedQOL total score 64.4±6.9 and ranged from 56.1 to 83.6. Among the different domains of the PedQOL inventory, the results of our study showed that children with epilepsy have got higher scores in the physical and the school domains than in the emotional and social domains. Our sample was drawn from Ain Shams University Hospital. Patients attending this health facility are usually from low to intermediate socio-economic status which may explain this result. Conclusion: Epilepsy in children has a great impact on the quality of life of those children particularly on the emotional and social domains. Some antiepileptic drugs like valproic acid have a better effect on the quality of life than others. The higher the children's quality of life the higher is the parents' quality of life. The highly impacted domains of the parents quality of life according to the SF36 questionnaire were role limitation (physical or social), social functioning and mental health domain.