Quality of life of children with epilepsy, a study in Western India

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of children with epilepsy and the demographic andclinical factors influencing the QOL in epilepticchildren.Method: Seventy six children 2-15 years old withactive epilepsy were consecutively enrolled.Baseline demographic data including age, gender,socio-economic status and parental education wereobtained from the parents. The type of epilepsy andseizure frequency were assessed. QOL wasassessed using the quality of life in childhoodepilepsy (QOLCE) questionnaire.Results: A total of 76 epileptic children aged 2-15years were evaluated for QOL using the QOLCEquestionnaire. Forty (52.6%) children were 5.1-10years old. There were 45 (59.2%) males and 31(40.8%) females. Fifty eight (76%) children camefrom a rural background and 48 (63.2%) belongedto the middle socio-economic class. Thirty nine(51.3%) fathers and 42 (55.3%) mothers wereeducated till high school. Generalised tonic clonicseizures occurred in 55 (72.4%) children followedby focal seizures and seizures of unknown type.Overall QOL score was 70.7 (12.6). Lowest scoreswere observed for energy / fatigue subcategory.Subcategories with higher QOL scores were socialstigma, social activity anxiety and socialinteraction. Overall QOL scores were better witheducated parents especially mothers. Childrenbelonging to lower and lower middle socioeconomicclass had poor overall QOL scores of66.8͢+12.5.Conclusions: Overall QOL was compromised inepileptic children and was adversely affected byparental education, especially mother’s, and thesocio-economic status of the family