Quality of life among epileptic patients in Khartoum State neurological clinics, Sudan: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable disease defined as recurrent and unprovoked seizures. Epilepsy causes a wide range of challenges that affect the patient's quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to assess the quality of life and associated factors among patients with epilepsy in Khartoum State, Sudan.

METHODS

This hospital-based cross-sectional study involved epileptic patients recruited from three neurological clinics located in Khartoum State, Sudan. The questionnaire consisted of the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) to assess quality of life, along with items covering the patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The data were analyzed using SPSS v.23. The Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze associations between clinical and demographic factors and QoL scores. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 106 epileptic patients were interviewed. The total mean score of QoL SF-36 in these patients was 59.8 ± 13.9. A total of 44.3% of the epileptic patients demonstrated a good quality of life. For different SF-36 subscales, the highest mean score was for the physical functioning domain (78.7 ± 21.3). All demographic and clinical characteristics were not significantly associated with the QoL score. Age, gender, and the presence or absence of workdays were found to be significantly associated with the physical functioning subscale ( = 0.003, 0.036, and 0.003, respectively), while marital status and number of outpatient visits were significantly associated with the mental health subscale ( = 0.041 and 0.038, respectively). Additionally, the presence or absence of workdays was significantly associated with the role limitation due to the physical health subscale ( = 0.023).

CONCLUSION

The study findings suggested that most patients with epilepsy have a moderate-to-good quality of life. The highest score was for the physical functioning domain. A significant relationship was identified between specific socio-demographic and clinical factors and various SF-36 QoL subscales. These findings highlight the need for targeted, culturally sensitive interventions, as well as longitudinal research to address the broader determinants of quality of life in this population.