The impact of cognitive impairment due to epilepsy on quality of life: What do we know?

Abstract

People with epilepsy (PWE) often experience cognitive impairment that negatively affects their quality of life (QOL). However, the relationship between patterns of cognitive impairment and QOL is not well established either overall or within different epilepsy subtypes. Our understanding is limited by the heterogeneity of the tools used to measure QOL across studies and subtypes of epilepsy and the lack of standardization between cognitive assessment batteries. This narrative review explores the current approaches used to investigate this relationship and identifies key findings from the literature. We highlight the need to standardize approaches to measuring QOL and cognition with studies focusing on specific epilepsy subtypes. We suggest expanding cognitive assessments to include social cognition, which correlates with QOL in PWE. Both researchers and clinicians can use this narrative review as another step toward characterizing the unique effects of cognitive impairment in the treatment of epilepsy.

Keywords: Cognitive Impairment; Epilepsy; Executive Function; Memory; Quality of Life; Social Cognition.