Authors :
Presenting Author: Ruta Mameniskiene, MD, PhD – Center for Neurology, Vilnius University
Monika Bruzaite, Dr. – medical student, Vilnius University; arminas Jasionis, MD – assoc. prof., Center of Neurology, Center for neurology, Vilnius university
Rationale:
This study aims to find out the reaction to the diagnosis of epilepsy, people's well-being, quality of life, and their association with demographics, clinical data, level of anxiety and depression, and personality type.
Methods:
An anonymous questionnaire survey was carried out at the Vilnius University Hospital. It consisted of questions about patients' well-being and behavior after epilepsy diagnosis, a neurological disorders depression inventory for epilepsy, a general anxiety disorder scale, and Ten Item Personality Inventory (TPI).
Results:
Sixty-seven subjects participated in the survey, 41 (61.2%) were women. The median age of the respondents was 32.50±14.93 years. At the time of epilepsy diagnosis, 32 (53.3%) subjects felt lost, 27 (45.8%) sad, 25 (43.1%) scared and 19 (32.8%) disappointed. Although 70% (43) of the subjects understood their diagnosis, 64% (40) of the respondents described coming to terms with the idea of being ill as difficult. Those who did not understand their diagnosis were more likely to go to another doctor to confirm their diagnosis (p=0.033). Suicidal ideation was reported by nine (14.3%) subjects and was more common in the non-working population (p=0.014). They were more likely to feel hopeless (p=0.012), frustrated (p=0.09), and lonely (p=0.001) at the time of diagnosis. Depression and anxiety were associated with having suicidal thoughts (p=0.003 and p=0.003 respectively). More than half (37 [58.7%]) of the subjects thought that epilepsy negatively affected their quality of life. Subjects with low awareness scores were more likely to have suicidal thoughts (p=0.02).
Conclusions:
At the time of diagnosis, patients face negative emotions. Most of the subjects understand but hardly accept the diagnosis. The response to epilepsy is independent of demographics. More frequent seizures were associated with suicidality. Epilepsy had a negative impact on the subjects' quality of life. Suicidal ideation was more common among those who were unemployed, depressed, anxious, and had lower TPI awareness scores.
Funding: None