Determinants of compliance in epileptic patients.

A questionnaire was filled out by 270 epileptic outpatients responsible for taking their own medication to assess the extent of drug compliance-adherence and look for factors associated with poor compliance. Eighty-six patients (31.8%) were considered non-compliers. Significant factors for non-compliance were a duration of disease from 10 to 20 years, a low frequency of seizures and a drug intake considered as very bothersome. Neither sex nor age at onset, nor age at survey, nor type of epilepsy were different in compliers and non-compliers. Stopping medication to see if one is cured was more frequent in women than in men and a fear of drug toxicity was more frequent in patients over 30 years old.