HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IS WORSE IN PNES THAN IN CLINICAL DEPRESSION
Abstract number :
1.267
Submission category :
Year :
2002
Submission ID :
3459
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/7/2002 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2002, 06:00 AM
Authors :
Magdalena Szaflarski, Jerzy P. Szaflarski, Cynthia Hughes, David M. Ficker, William T. Cahill, Michael D. Privitera. Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH; Department of Neurology
RATIONALE: After reviewing this abstract the audience should be able to understand differences in the HRQOL between patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and patients with clinical depression.
Previously, we examined the relationship between the diagnosis of PNES and HRQOL, and we found depression contributing to the low HRQOL in this cohort of patients (Epilepsia, Suppl. 7; 2001). It is not known whether depression affects patients with PNES in the same way as it affects patients with depression without other co-morbidities.
METHODS: Patients admitted to an inpatient EMU between 1/20/01 and 3/31/02 were prospectively evaluated. Patients completed epilepsy-specific QOL instrument (QOLIE-89). SF-36 data were extracted from QOLIE-89 for patients with definite PNES (n=53). We used one-sample difference-of-means test (t-test) to compare the sample data with the population norms for clinical depression (Ware et al., 1993).
RESULTS: See the table below: Comparing average SF-36 scores in patients with PNES to the population norms for clinical depression. Patients with PNES scored below the depression norms on 5 of 8 SF-36 subscales.
CONCLUSIONS: Although depression affects both cohorts of patients, HRQOL in patients with PNES is worse than in patients with clinical depression. Therefore, factors other than depression probably add to the explanation of low HRQOL in patients with PNES. These factors need to be explored further before effective therapies are designed.[table1]