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

Objectives: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of children with epilepsy and the demographic and clinical factors influencing the QOL in epileptic children.

Method: Seventy six children 2-15 years old with active epilepsy were consecutively enrolled. Baseline demographic data including age, gender, socio-economic status and parental education were obtained from the parents. The type of epilepsy and seizure frequency were assessed. QOL was assessed using the quality of life in childhood epilepsy (QOLCE) questionnaire.

Results: A total of 76 epileptic children aged 2-15 years were evaluated for QOL using the QOLCE questionnaire. Forty (52.6%) children were 5.1-10 years old. There were 45 (59.2%) males and 31 (40.8%) females. Fifty eight (76%) children came from a rural background and 48 (63.2%) belonged to the middle socio-economic class. Thirty nine (51.3%) fathers and 42 (55.3%) mothers were educated till high school. Generalised tonic clonic seizures occurred in 55 (72.4%) children followed by focal seizures and seizures of unknown type. Overall QOL score was 70.7 (12.6). Lowest scores were observed for energy / fatigue subcategory. Subcategories with higher QOL scores were social stigma, social activity anxiety and social interaction. Overall QOL scores were better with educated parents especially mothers. Children belonging to lower and lower middle socio-economic class had poor overall QOL scores of 66.8͢+12.5.

Conclusions: Overall QOL was compromised in epileptic children and was adversely affected by parental education, especially mother’s, and the socio-economic status of the family.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2021; 50(4): 667-673