Factors affecting quality of life in epilepsy in a multi-ethnic urban population

We examined factors associated with quality of life (QOL) among predominantly ethnic minority, low-income patients with epilepsy (PWE). Ninety-four PWE ≥14years old completed standardized questionnaires, including the QOLIE-31. The patients were born in 17 countries, and most of them identified culturally with the United States (44%), the Caribbean (35%), or Latin America (9%). Fifty-three percent of patients received no income other than public assistance. The mean QOLIE-31 score for all subjects was 57.6 (SD: 15.1). A step-wise regression analysis revealed that of 11 possible predictor variables, only perceived epilepsy stigma, seizure frequency, and gender were significantly associated with the QOLIE-31 score and respectively accounted for 16%, 9%, and 5% of its variance. These results suggest that perceived epilepsy stigma is at least as important as seizure freedom in determining quality of life, at least in some populations of PWE. Epilepsy health care providers should take every opportunity to help patients overcome and reduce perceived stigma.