Epilepsy and occupational accidents in Brazil: a national statistics study

Abstract

Epilepsy may restrict the patient's daily life. It causes lower quality of life and increased risk for work-related accidents (WRA). The aim of this study is to analyze the implantation of the Epidemiologic and Technical Security System Nexus (ETSSN) and WRA patterns among patients with epilepsy. Data regarding WRA, between 1999 and 2008, on the historical database of WRA Infolog Statistical Yearbook from Brazilian Ministry of Social Security were reviewed. There was a significant increase of reported cases during the ten year period, mainly after the establishment of the ETSSN. The increased granted benefits evidenced the epidemiologic association between epilepsy and WRA. ETSSN possibly raised the registration of occupational accidents and granted benefits. However, the real number of WRA may remain underestimated due to informal economy and house workers' accidents which are usually not included in the official statistics in Brazil. Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that impairs quality of life and inflicts large expenditures over a nation's health care budget 1 . Epilepsy, due to its seizures and chronicity, is a condition which alters individual's life both physical and emotionally. It is a stigmatizing condition and usually restricts the patient's daily activities,

Validity and Reliability of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31) for Turkey

“…Compared with patients with other chronic diseases, emotional well-being and functional limitations are influenced more in epileptic patients (5). Moreover, epileptic patients have been shown to have a higher tendency for accidents (6,7,8) while facing difficulties in proceeding with their daily activities because of physical problems and the side effects of the antiepileptic drugs (9,10). Most epileptic patients encounter limitations in social activities and many of them hide their disease because the abovementioned problems reduce their self-esteem, leading to feeling desperate, depressed and socially isolated, all of which decrease the quality of life of these individuals (11,12,13,14).…”