The sociodemographic, clinical and pharmacotherapy characteristics influencing quality of life in patients with epilepsy: A cross-sectional study

CONTEXT: Quality of life (QOL) assessment in patients with epilepsy (PWE) is increasingly recognized as an important component in the management of epilepsy. AIMS: The objective of the present study was to assess influence of sociodemographic, clinical and pharmacotherapy characteristics collectively on QOL in adult PWE. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional, observational study in patients with confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: QOL was assessed using modified QOLIE-10 questionnaire for epilepsy. Univariate and multiple regression analysis were done to determine factors associated with poor QOL, respectively. RESULTS: There were 451 PWE, with a mean age 27.3 ± 8.15 years, 251 (56%) males and 191 (42%) had monthly income < 5000 Indian national rupees (INR)/month. The QOLIE score was 64.1 ± 15.97 (Mean ± SD). The univariate analysis showed factors such as lower monthly income, focal epilepsy, seizure frequency, antiepileptic drug (AED) polytherapy, conventional AEDs and frequent adverse drug reactions (ADRs) had significant negative influence on various domains of QOLIE-10 questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis showed seizure frequency as a significant predictor of most QOL domains and overall score, while ADRs as a significant predictor of all the domains. Seizure type was a predictive factor for domains like emotional well-being and overall score. CONCLUSION: Present findings showed patients on monotherapy had better QOL while those having lower monthly income, having focal epilepsy and who received conventional AEDs had negative influence on QOL scores. Further, higher seizure frequency and occurrence of ADRs were significant predictors of all the domains of QOL in PWE.