Objective: To assess and explore the quality of life and related factors among 291 outpatient adults with epilepsy.
Methods: From July, 2005 to July, 2006, eligible outpatient epilepsy in a hospital was evaluated by the scale on quality of life in epilepsy-31 (Chinese version).
Results: The total scores of quality of life was low (56.46 +/- 16.58). The scores of quality of life in each item were as follows: seizure worry (45.01 +/- 25.25); overall quality of life (56. 12 +/- 16.37); emotional well-being (59.35 +/- 19.56); cognitive function (58.58 +/- 22.41); energy/fatigue (59.12 +/- 18.98); medication effects (40.45 +/- 24.44) and social function (53.00 +/- 26.36). The quality of life of patients with different education background, drug intake and side effects was different significantly (P < 0.05). Data on Multi-linear regression showed that education background, side effects would affect the quality of life.
Conclusion: The quality of life of outpatient adults with epilepsy was low with education background, while side effects and drugs intake might serve as important factors affecting the quality of life with epilepsy.