Evaluation of the quality of life related to health in adolescent patients with epilepsy through the application of the scale quality of life impact in epilepsy adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: Epilepsy is a chronic disease that affects the quality of life (QoL) of adolescent patients. The objective of the study was to determine the QoL related to health in adolescent patients with epilepsy treated at the Federico Gómez Children's Hospital of Mexico using the QoL impact in epilepsy adolescents (QOLIE-AD-48) scale application. Materials and methods: An observational, descriptive, and transversal study was carried out. Adolescent patients with a diagnosis of epilepsy and specific characteristics obtained by non-random convenience were evaluated. A questionnaire with socio-demographic data and the QOLIE-AD-48 questionnaire were applied. Results: We obtained 35 participants, 51.5% male, with an average age of 14.2 years ± 1.4 (standard deviation), the average duration of 4.7 years. Regarding schooling, 13% of participants have failed a grade level. About 11.4% do not attend school. Epileptic seizures were classified as focal (71.4%) and generalized (28.6%). The largest number of cases was in monotherapy in 68.6%, and the most common drugs are valproic acid (39.4%) and levetiracetam (27.3%). The QOLIE-AD-48 score was 65.20. The most affected domains, according to gender were: attitude toward epilepsy and physical functioning, for female and male, respectively. Overall, the lowest scores are attitudes toward epilepsy and health perception. Conclusions: Despite adequate control of seizures, the QoL related to the health of adolescents with epilepsy is regular. This suggests that not only the crisis and the number of them influence the external environment of adolescents but also that other factors can be included in the overall well-being.