QUALITY OF LIFE OF ADULTS WITH EPILEPSY: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS (Atena Editora)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Epilepsy is the most prevalent chronic neurological disease in the world. Treatment is initially pharmacological through anti-epileptic drugs, which include anticonvulsants. The disease negatively impacts quality of life (QoL), and there are standardized scales to measure QoL in Epilepsy, such as QOLIE-31. However, the concept of quality of life is broad and it is necessary to objectively assess which areas of well-being are most impacted by the disease. OBJECTIVES: to describe the quality of life of patients with epilepsy under clinical treatment. METHOD: descriptive study, carried out through review of medical records and application of the internationally validated QOLIE-31 questionnaire. It took place from June 2021 to June 2022 in patients over 18 years of age diagnosed with epilepsy. RESULTS: Seventeen patients participated in the study, 10 men (58.8%) and 7 women, of different ages (the youngest in the 18-29 age group, and the oldest over 70 years old). The responses to the questionnaire were interpreted using the QOLIE-31 formula, which transformed the subjective responses into scores from 0 (worst QLV) to 100 (best possible QLV), divided into 7 parameters - sociability, calmness during seizures, energy, general quality of life, cognitive function, emotional well-being and adaptation to medication. Each parameter evaluated in the questionnaire had its mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum and median calculated. DISCUSSION: the means of the 7 QOLIE-31 scores demonstrate that the factor with the worst influence on the quality of life of patients with epilepsy is the lack of calmness in having seizures - which is the result of social stigma, insecurity about getting hurt and constant fear of having seizures. The best factor evaluated was the general quality of life, which covered responses that did not depend exclusively on epilepsy. Thus, it can be seen that despite the disease, the patient can present well-being in other areas of life. The other areas evaluated obtained intermediate scores, with averages ranging from 59.5 to 65.4 out of 100 possible points. CONCLUSION: the lack of tranquility in having seizures is the worst factor in the QoL of the patient with epilepsy. The care team must address this fear during consultations, in order to train the patient on how to act in the event of a seizure and thus reduce the negative impact of seizures on their QoL.