The quality of life of chronic epileptic patients in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Epilepsy is a disease that significantly impairs the quality of life of the sufferers. Measures of quality of life have been developed to assess the overall impact of management on the patients. While studies on quality of life have been previously carried out in Nigerians, a standardized and validated inventory has not been used for this purpose because these are just being developed. Thirty-two epileptics (24 males and 8 females) attending the Neurology clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, were studied. Each subject had complete physical examination and elecroencephalography. A short screening quality of life questionnaire (QOLI E 10) was administered to the subjects during routine clinic visits. The commonest aspect of quality of life affected in the subjects was feeling of energy, which was impaired in 15 (46.8%) subjects. This was followed by memory problems in 11 (34.4%). Fear of experiencing the next seizure was reported by eight (25.8%) of subjects. Only five (16.7%) and three (10.3%) of the subjects respectively reported work and social limitations like attending social occasions. No subject reported difficulty with driving or operating machinery, or mental disturbances. Energy and memory deficits are the major problems affecting the quality of life of epileptics in this study. Most subjects did not consider physical and social limitations important.