Stigma and quality of life in individuals with epilepsy: a preliminary report

Epilepsy is considered to be a debilitating illness associated with a high level of stigma and impaired quality of life. This study was aimed at evaluating whether exposure to treatment is associated with a decrease in the level of stigma in individuals with epilepsy and its relationship to quality of life.

Participants were divided into three groups. The first group comprised 15 newly registered patients at the Epilepsy Clinic of the Central Institute of Psychiatry. The second group included 15 patients of the clinic who had been receiving regular treatment, including comprehensive psychosocial intervention per clinic protocol, for at least 1 year. The control group comprised 15 community-dwelling normal healthy participants. The Stigma Scale for Epilepsy, Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-89, and World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Version were administered to measure stigma and quality of life.

The perception of stigma was strongly associated with epilepsy, but there was no difference between the treated and untreated groups with epilepsy. Also, stigma and quality of life were negatively correlated.

There is a need for a community-level awareness program to deal with the stigma associated with epilepsy.