Abstract
Epilepsy is a neurological chronic disease, which negatively affects physical, psychological and social functioning of children and their families. The main objective of this study was to assess the quality of life (QoL) in children with diagnosed epilepsy and the impact of a child’s disease on the functioning of the family. Method: A cross-sectional survey involved a total of 103 legal guardians of children with diagnosed epilepsy. QoL was measured by PedsQL 4.0, with appropriate forms for specific age groups, the impact of a child’s condition on the functioning of the family was measured by PedsQL 2.0 Family Impact Module, and the authors’ own questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic and medical data. Results: Subjects reported a decreased level of family daily activities (total score: 32.4 out of 100, SD = 26.5) and relationships (total score: 55.63 out of 100, SD = 24.03). QoL in children aged 5–7 years is lower by an average of 11.956 points as compared with children aged 2–4 years. Comorbidities had a significant impact (p < 0.05) on QoL in all domains. The overall QoL has reported a low score of 46.42 out of 100, respectively (SD ± 20.95), with the highest mean scores reported for the social functioning (total score: 49.4, SD = 27.3) and the physical functioning (total score: 49.4, SD = 28.4) and with the lowest mean score reported for the work/school functioning (total score: 42.3, SD = 27.8). Conclusions: Child’s epilepsy shows a considerable negative impact on the QoL of children and family functioning.
Highlights
Received: 31 December 2021According to the World Health Organization, approximately 7.60 per 1000 individuals experience epilepsy during their lifetime, with the condition affecting around million people of all ages worldwide [1]
While one-third of cases of epilepsy are caused by acquired injuries, the remaining cases are believed to be due to genetic factors, including monogenic and polygenic inheritance [5]
Questionnaire showed that the mean parent-proxy reported total QoL score of the children was 46, which indicates that overall quality of life has been significantly reduced, with the highest mean scores reported for the social functioning domain, the physical functioning domain and with the lowest mean score reported for the work/school functioning domain (Table 3)
Summary
Received: 31 December 2021According to the World Health Organization, approximately 7.60 per 1000 individuals experience epilepsy during their lifetime, with the condition affecting around million people of all ages worldwide [1]. The maximum incidence of epilepsy, i.e., per 100,000 cases annually, occurs in the first year of life, similar to the age range of to 12 years. The incidence of epilepsy in children aged 11–17 is 21–24 per 100,000 cases [2,3]. Genetic testing is often useful, especially in the case of early-life epilepsies [4]. While one-third of cases of epilepsy are caused by acquired injuries (injury during the labour, brain injury or tumour), the remaining cases are believed to be due to genetic factors, including monogenic and polygenic inheritance [5]. The monogenic forms of epileptic disorders tend to occur earlier in life and cover a broad clinical spectrum, from mild, self-limited epilepsy (epilepsy caused by inborn errors of metabolism) to severe early-onset encephalopathy and epilepsies linked to other neurodevelopmental problems [6,7]. Diagnosis is crucial to reducing the risk of recurrence, ensuring a better prognosis and optimizing treatment in order to ensure the best possible quality of Accepted: 15 February 2022
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