Abstracts

One of the stated goals of pediatric epilepsy surgery is the improvement of social outcomes. Social outcomes refer to interpersonal (social relationships) and intrapersonal (affective and instrumental) aspects of functioning. This study examines social functioning in a group of young adults (18-30 years) and compares those who had epilepsy surgery and are seizure free (SF), to a group who are not seizure free after surgery (NSF), and a third comparison group with intractable epilepsy who did not undergo surgery (CTL). The SF group (n=43), NSF group (n=24) and the CTL group (n=20) did not differ with respect to age at the time of study, age at seizure onset, proportion of life with seizures and IQ. The two groups that underwent epilepsy surgery were also equivalent with respect to age at surgery and years since surgery. The social functioning subscale of the QOLIE-31 (Cramer et al., 1998) and the work and activity, and social and personal subscales of the Subjective Handicap of Epilepsy (SHE; O[rsquo]Donoghue et al., 1998) were used to examine group differences. ANOVAs revealed group differences on all three measures of social functioning (all p[rsquo]s [lt]0.05). Post-hoc analyses (Tukey HSDs) indicated that the SF group had better QOLIE-31 social functioning subscale scores than the NSF and CTL groups (p[lt]0.01). The SF group had better scores on the work and activities subscale of the SHE (p[lt]0.01) than the other two groups. Although the SF group had better scores than the NSF group on the social and personal subscale of the SHE, the SF and IE groups did not significantly differ (p[gt]0.05). This study generates evidence that those who undergo epilepsy surgery during childhood or adolescence and are seizure free in young adulthood experience better social outcomes than an intractable cohort. However, these findings may be contingent on what aspect of social functioning is assessed. We believe seizure freedom has an impact on general social functioning as measured by the QOLIE-31 social subscale and on work and activities. However, the role that seizure freedom plays in interpersonal aspects of social functioning as measured by the social and personal subscale of the SHE is less clear. (Supported by Ontario Mental Health Foundation)