Factors associated with impaired quality of life in younger and older adults with epilepsy

Canuet, Leonides; Ishii, Ryouhei; Iwase, Masao; Ikezawa, Koji; Kurimoto, Ryu; Azechi, Michiyo; Takahashi, Hidetoshi; Nakahachi, Takayuki; Teshima, Yoshio; Takeda, Masatoshi

doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2008.09.001

« Previous Next »Epilepsy Research
Volume 83, Issue 1 , Pages 58-65, January 2009

Factors associated with impaired quality of life in younger and older adults with epilepsy

Leonides Canuet
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
- Department of Neurology, Saturnino Lora Provincial Hospital, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Ryouhei Ishii
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
- Corresponding author at: Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamadaoka 2-2, D-3, Suita City 565-0871, Japan. Tel.: +81 6 6879 3051; fax: +81 6 6879 3059.
Masao Iwase
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
Koji Ikezawa
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Osaka Koseinenkin Hospital, Japan
Ryu Kurimoto
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
Michiyo Azechi
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
Hidetoshi Takahashi
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
Takayuki Nakahachi
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
Yoshio Teshima
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Osaka Koseinenkin Hospital, Japan
Masatoshi Takeda
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan

Received 29 July 2008; received in revised form 9 September 2008; accepted 14 September 2008.

Summary

The purpose of this study is to weigh psychological state, patients’ demographics, seizure-related factors, and medical comorbidity in older adults with epilepsy against the same parameters in younger adults in an attempt to identify best quality of life (QoL) predictors. The Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory for Adults (QOLIE-31) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were completed by 146 patients with localization-related epilepsy. There was no statistical difference in the QOLIE-31 total score between younger and older adults. Best QoL predictors were BDI-II and seizure frequency, with BDI-II providing more than 3 times the impact of seizure frequency. BDI-II also substantively predicted most QOLIE-31 domains. Additionally, epilepsy duration positively correlated with overall QoL only among older adults. In summary, in younger as well as older adult epilepsy patients, depressive symptoms emerge as the strongest predictor of QoL. However, older adults appear to adapt better to their chronic health problem.

Keywords: Quality of life, Elderly, Epilepsy, Depression