Quality of life and functional limitations in persons with epilepsy

Epilepsy can reduce quality of life (QOL), functionality, and social participation, but these effects have not been adequately quantified in large, population-based, controlled studies. We sought to evaluate the impact of epilepsy on patients' QOL and employment outcomes.

In this cross-sectional study we used nationally representative, pooled data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) household component files for 2010-2018. MEPS is a population-based survey of U.S. community-dwelling persons. We included respondents with condition file records for epilepsy. We also analyzed respondents with records for seizure. The primary outcomes were short form-12 physical and mental health scores. Secondary outcomes included self-rated health status, employment status, educational attainment, school/household/work limitations, and missed workdays. We compared these outcomes between persons with epilepsy (PWE) and age- and gender-matched controls.

We identified 1078 people with epilepsy, 2344 seizure cases, and 3422 cases of either condition (persons with epilepsy and/or seizures). Epilepsy was associated with a decrease of - 4.0 (95% CI: -5.1 to -2.8) points in SF-12 physical health scores and - 3.1 (95% CI: -4.2 to -1.9) in SF-12 mental health scores. Epilepsy was also associated with decreases in the likelihood of reporting good/very good/excellent health status (-13.3 [95% CI: -16.1 to -10.4] percentage points). Epilepsy was also associated with adverse employment-related outcomes. Specifically, PWE were 17.9 (95% CI: 14.3-21.4) percentage points more likely to report that they had work or household limitations. The associations between outcomes and epilepsy were, in most cases, larger than those between outcomes and other common, chronic conditions.

Epilepsy is associated with worse quality of life and employment-related outcomes. Interventions should aim to improve functioning and patients' ability to maintain employment.