Quality of life in young adults who underwent resective surgery for epilepsy in childhood

Abstract

This study investigated quality of life (QOL) in young adults who had undergone epilepsy surgery before the age of 16 years. The contribution to QOL of seizure status in the prior year, sex, number of antiepileptic drugs, and mood were evaluated. Sixty-nine young adults who had undergone surgery were subdivided into those who were seizure-free in the past year (n = 38) and those who had seizures (n = 31) in that time. A nonsurgical comparison group of young adults (n = 29) with childhood-onset medically intractable epilepsy was also studied. All groups completed measures of QOL and mood. After accounting for mood, sex, and number of antiepileptic drugs, the seizure-free group reported better cognitive and physical function and overall QOL, experienced less seizure worry, and had better self-perception. Mood was the most consistently predictive covariate, and was independently predictive of many aspects of QOL. Seizure freedom associated with surgery in childhood is associated with improved QOL in certain domains. Findings highlight the importance of mood in determining self-perception of QOL.