Title : Analysis of the influence of various factors on the quality of life of patients with epilepsy in Kyrgyz Republic
Abstract:
Epilepsy is a disease characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures and by the neurobiological, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of this condition. Approximately 50 million people currently live with epilepsy worldwide. Close to 80% of people with epilepsy (PWE) live in low- and middle-income countries. Despite the major impact of epilepsy on quality of life (QoL) in PWE and family members, this aspect has not been studied much in Kyrgyz Republic.
The aim of the study was to assess the QoL in PWE and to determine the clinical, demographic and socioeconomic factors which are associated with the QoL in such patients in Kyrgyz Republic. According to the official data obtained by the authors in different countries, the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory – 31 (QOLIE-31) prevalence rate is between 42.13-76.23.
The study was performed on 51 patients with epilepsy with different etiology, including 24 women (47.06%) and 27 men (52.94%). The mean age of respondents was 35.64 (range: 15-68 years). As regards the employment status, 25.49% of patients were employed, 50.98% were unemployed, 5.88% studied and 17.65% didn’t study. The mean age at onset of epilepsy was 27.8 (range: 3-53 years). Duration of the disease was classified into one of the two categories: duration of epilepsy ≤5 years (50.98%) and >5 years (49.02%) (an average duration of epilepsy was 7.8 years, ranging from 0.3-29 years). Patients were divided into two groups by seizure type, in which 98.04% reported having generalized motor onset seizures, 1.96% reported having generalized non motor onset seizures. The frequency of seizures ≤ 2-3times per month was 21.57% and >2-3 times per month was 78.43%. The medication analysis revealed that 80.39% of the participants were on monotherapy, whereas 19.61% were on polytherapy. The mean total score of the QoL in PWE measured by QOLIE-31 scale was 40.13 (range: 7.75-69.85), with the lowest subscale score being 27.96 for Seizure Worry and the highest subscale score - 55.43 - for Medication Effects.
Conclusions. The most important clinical, demographic and social factors affecting QoL in PWE were duration of the disease, frequency of seizures, the age of onset and occupation. The worst scores were attained in the seizure worry domain. The QoL in PWE in our country is lower than the other countries’ statistics.
Audience Take Away:
- This presentation shows for the first time the quality of life in people with epilepsy in Kyrgyzstan at the international level, which is an advantage of this work. In addition, audience will have an idea of the situation of QoL in PWE in developing countries on the example of Kyrgyzstan and compare with global data.
- Knowledge of factors significantly affecting QoL in PWE allows to plan and coordinate the treatment, nursing care, and rehabilitation procedures more effectively.
