Abstracts

Rationale: Attention to happiness and wellbeing of people with epilepsy (PWE) may be considered to be peripheral to medical care. Happiness is increasingly recognized as important for optimal medical outcomes. Yet, interventions to measure and improve happiness in neurological disease are limited, particularly in PWE. It is of high importance to understand the effects of happiness in patients with epilepsy to comprehend the extent of the pathological process and the need for intervention. The purpose of this study is to obtain data about the perception of happiness and wellbeing in PWE at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Methods: 84 patients from the epilepsy clinic at MSBI took part in the study. Median age was 43 (20-75) years. PWE were given a 30 item questionnaire (marital status, cohabitation, religion, education, employment, practice of sports and charity works, psychiatric co-morbidities, length of epilepsy, number of medications, impact of the disease in life and feeling discouragement) with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS - a 5 item score, ranging from 5 to 35, where higher results correlate with better life satisfaction (Diener,1985)) and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ - an 8 item instrument with average score 1-6, where higher scores correlate with higher personal happiness (Hills, 2002)).The results of each scale were grouped in 3 categories, Low (SLS: 5-15, OHQ:1-2), Medium (SLS:16-25, OHQ:3-4) and High (SLS:26-35, OHQ:5-6) for analysis. For SLS, any unanswered questions were completed with an average response, in order to allow statistical comparison. Statistical analysis was done using STATA. Results: There were 49 women (58%) and 35 men (42%). Median (mdn) SLS score was 21(5-35) (low 17.9%,mid 57.1%,high 25%). Average OHQ score was 4.3(SD 1.02) (low 1.2%, mid 61.9%,high 36.9%). PWE who reported that epilepsy had a negative impact in their quality of life (67.1%), mdn SLS was 19 (5-33) (low 29.3%, mid 61%, high 9.8%) and average OHQ was 4.0 (SD 1.03) (low 1.3%, mid 63%, high 35.6%). PWE who reported being discouraged by having epilepsy (56.1%), mdn SLS was18 (low 29.3%, mid 60.9%, high 9.7%) and average OHQ was 3.75(SD 0.89) (low 2.4%, mid 82.9%, high 14.6%). PWE with a psychiatric diagnosis (32.1%), mdn SLS was 19 (SLS: low 30.7%, mid 53.8%, high 15.38%) and average OHQ 3.8(SD 1.02) (low 3.8%, mid 76.9%, high 19.2%). PWE in treatment for a psychiatric illness (19.7%), mdn SLS was 19 (low 33.3%, mid 60%, high 6.7%) and average OHQ 3.5(SD 0.75) (low 6.7%, mid 86.7%, high 6.7%). Conclusions: In PWE, SLS and OHQ results reflect a "slight satisfaction with life" and "moderately happy", respectively. Even though the majority of PWE reported that epilepsy negatively affects their quality of life, this was not reflected on the SLS and OHQ. Also, in PWE who reported having a psychiatric disorder, the SLS and OHQ did not show dissatisfaction with life or unhappiness. It appears that independent measures of fulfillment and happiness may be different from subjective perception. Further study of SLS/OHQ vs. QOLIE may help to determine if happiness is related to quality of life.