Patient complexity, depression, and quality of life in patients with epilepsy at an epilepsy center in Japan.

OBJECTIVE

The relationship between care complexity and quality of life among patients with epilepsy has not been assessed, especially in Japan. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that care complexity is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and mood disturbance.

METHOD

This was an observational cross-sectional study. The study included a consecutive series of 49 patients who newly visited an epilepsy center. Study participants were administered standardized quantitative measures of HRQOL, case complexity, and depression.

RESULTS

Patient complexity predicted lower HRQL scores. Data on the social and psychological complexity domains predicted patient HRQOL findings more accurately than data from the biological domain of the case complexity scale. Seizure frequency was unrelated to HRQOL findings in this study. Additionally, depression scores were also associated with lower HRQOL.

SIGNIFICANCE

A patient complexity assessment, including psychological and social domains, may be one of the key tools in epilepsy treatment settings. Further studies using larger random selection from patients with epilepsy are necessary to generalize the findings to patients in other epilepsy programs.