Factors affecting the quality of life in drug-resistant epilepsy patients

Epilepsy patients whose seizures cannot be controlled by treatment have a lower quality of life (QoL). The aim of the present study was to compare the potential factors affecting the QoL in patients who were seizure-free with medication or who had drug-resistant epilepsy. The study included 46 drug-resistant and 42 seizure-free epilepsy patients. The demographic and clinical features of the patients were investigated for their effects on patient QoL. The QoL was assessed by the QoL in Epilepsy Inventory-89 and depression was detected by the Beck Depression Inventory. The QoL was significantly lower in the drug-resistant patients than in the seizure-free epilepsy patients (p < 0.001). Depression, lower education level, and unemployment were associated with lower QoL scores (p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.001, respectively). After adjusting for lower education level and unemployment, depression remained as an independent factor affecting QoL (p < 0.05). In addition to their efforts to control and stop seizures, clinicians should remain aware of depression and treat it effectively to improve the QoL of drug-resistant epilepsy patients.