Resilience, quality of life, and clinical aspects of patients with epilepsy

Abstract

Clinical and psychosocial factors can influence the quality of life (QoL) of patients with epilepsy (PWE).

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the Resilience Scale (RS) and the QOLIE-31 (Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory), Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy, and clinical aspects of 137 PWE, at a significance level of p < 0.05.

Results: Seizure control, normal EEG (electroencephalographic) background activity, and antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapy were associated with greater resilience. There was a correlation between resilience and depressive episodes (Pearson correlation: -0.462; p < 0.000) and performance in the MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) (0.221, p = 0.015). Improved QoL was associated with greater resilience, self-sufficiency, equanimity, and perseverance. Greater resilience was significantly related to the absence of depressive symptoms (p = 0.001), normal EEG background activity (p = 0.024), and AED monotherapy (p = 0.049) in the linear regression model.

Conclusion: Clinical, cognitive, and EEG aspects were related to resilience. Depressive symptoms correlate negatively with resilience. Individuals with greater resilience perceive better QoL.

Keywords: Epilepsy; Quality of life; Resilience.