QUALITY OF LIFE IN INTRACTABLE EPILEPSY: DOES AGE MATTER?
Abstract number :
1.370
Submission category :
Year :
2003
Submission ID :
655
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2003, 06:00 AM
Authors :
Jason M. Meckler, Jerzy P. Szaflarski, Magdalena Szaflarski, Cynthia Hughes, David M. Ficker, William T. Cahill, Jennifer Cavitt, Michael D. Privitera Neurology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH; Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Res
Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in epilepsy is related to the severity of the disease, medication side effects, co-morbidities, seizure freedom and response to treatment. But the literature provides no clear statement about the role of age. In this study, we examine age-related effects (patient[rsquo]s age, age of seizure onset, and disease duration) on HRQOL in patients with epilepsy.
259 patients admitted to the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit of the University Hospital in Cincinnati between January 20, 2001 and April 28, 2003 completed epilepsy specific quality of life instrument (QOLIE-89). All patients with monitoring-confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy were included in the analysis (n = 100; 64% female); patients with other diagnoses were excluded. Bivariate correlations (Pearson[rsquo]s [italic]r[/italic] for normally distributed and Spearman[rsquo]s [italic]rho[/italic] for not normally distributed variables) and simple linear regression were used to estimate the relationships between age, epilepsy onset, and epilepsy duration and HRQOL.
There was no correlation ([italic]r[/italic] = -0.01; P = 0.33) between age (mean 37 years; SD [plusmn] 10) and HRQOL (mean 56; SD [plusmn] 17). Duration of epilepsy (mean 18 years; SD [plusmn] 13) had a positive ([italic]rho[/italic] = 0.26; P = 0.01) and age of seizure onset (mean 19 years; SD [plusmn] 15) had a negative ([italic]rho[/italic] = -0.32; P = 0.001) association with HRQOL. The regression results indicate that: 1) adding 3 years to age of onset is associated, on average, with 1-point [italic]decrease[/italic] in QOLIE-89 (QOLIE-89 = 62.65 - 0.35*age of onset; R2 = 0.09) while 2) adding 3 years to duration of epilepsy is associated, on average, with 1-point [italic]increase[/italic] in QOLIE-89 (QOLIE-89 = 49.05 + 0.34*duration; R2 = 0.07).
Although HRQOL and age are not correlated, other aspects of age in epilepsy appear to matter. In patients with intractable seizures, HRQOL improves with the duration of epilepsy. Also, HRQOL is better in patients who were younger at the onset of epilepsy. This may represent better coping or adaptive mechanisms in younger patients.