The quality of life among Sudanese patients with epilepsy, Khartoum, Sudan

This is the first study done in the National Center for Neurological Sciences, Khartoum State, to assess the quality of life among more than 100 Sudanese epileptic patients, in the period from September to December 2020.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study; data were collected using an interview-based semi-structured structured questionnaire and this questionnaire was modified from the SF-36 model.

Most of the patients were from urban areas and origin (60.2%), most of which were housewives; the majority of the patients were single and from low socioeconomic status, history of the disease was less than 3 years for most of the cases covered in this study, most of the cases were classified as generalized tonic clonic epilepsy, and normal EEG findings and normal MRI brain were found in 75.7% and 78.6%, respectively. Most patients mentioned that they experienced no attacks during the last month. Regarding mental health, 47.6% experienced symptoms of depression, and 75.7% had memory problems. In terms of physical health, 51.5% felt energetic all of the time, 9.7% experienced remarkable sleep disturbance, most of the patients are not driving nor have established hobbies during leisure time. 63.1% of the participants do not have health problems; 32% mentioned that they would feel stigmatized if an attack takes place in public. Commonest medication prescribed was carbamazepine, out of which 73.8% are fully compliant with their medication. 95.1% are not worried about long term use of medication.

Lower levels of education and manual labor are associated with poor quality of life. Epilepsy has an adverse impact on social life. There is a global decrease in cognitive function, and most of the patients are not worried about the side effects and duration of the medication usage.