Impact of social factors on the quality of life of patients with refractory epilepsy.

Purpose: To assess the impact of social factors on the quality of life of Bulgarian patients with refractory epilepsy.

Case Report: We have studied 70 patients with refractory epilepsy (RE) and 70 patients with pharmacosensitive epilepsy. All of them were between 18 and 65 years of age, without cognitive decline, progressive somatic or neurological disease or recent seizures. All participants were inquired about their education,employment, marital status, and driving. Only the patients with RE completed QOLIE-89.

Results: Twenty-five (35.71%) of the participants with RE were not married; 16 (22.86%) of them had an elementary education, 44 (62.86%) - a secondary education, and 10 (14.29%) - a university education.Nineteen (27.4%) participants were employed, 41 (58.57%) were recognized disabled, 10 (14.29%)were unemployed. Two (2.86%) of the patients with RE were drivers. We found out that the marital status did not change the quality of life. The university education correlated with a higher assessment of the “overall health” subscale (50%). The limited or lacking employment had a negative impact on the assessment of the following subscales: “pain”, “health discouragement”, “sexual relations”, “emotional well-being”, “memory”, “work/driving/social function”, “overall health”, “overall quality of life” and the overall score of QOLIE-89. The possibility of driving correlated with more worries about adverse events from antiepileptic drugs.

Conclusion: The limited or lacking employment has a negative impact on most aspects of the quality of life, while education and driving influence single aspects of the quality of life.