The Patients' Long-Term Insight into Day-to-Day Functioning After Establishing the Functional Seizures Diagnosis

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Psychiatry
• Quality of Life Research

Background:

• Functional seizures (FSs) present with diverse symptoms unrelated to abnormal brain electrical activity.
• FSs frequently co-occur with psychiatric comorbidities, significantly affecting patient well-being.
• Understanding factors influencing quality of life in FSs patients is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of FSs on patients' quality of life.
• To identify clinical factors associated with subjective quality of life in FSs patients.
• To explore treatable factors influencing quality of life in FSs.

Main Methods:

• Study included 76 patients diagnosed with functional seizures (FSs) using video-EEG telemetry.
• Quality of life was assessed using the Likert scale from the QOLIE 31 questionnaire.
• Statistical analysis explored associations between clinical factors and subjective quality of life scores.

Main Results:

• Seven variables showed marginal association with quality of life; depression symptoms had a significant negative association after correction.
• Multivariable analysis identified negative associations between quality of life and age at FS onset, perceived mental changes, seizure severity, depressive symptoms, and fear of therapy side effects.
• Positive associations were observed with subjective disease severity, belief in treatment efficacy, seizure cessation, and reduced fear of seizures.

Conclusions:

• Depressive symptoms and negative disease perception are key factors associated with lower quality of life in functional seizure patients.
• Addressing psychiatric comorbidities like depression is vital for improving life satisfaction in FSs.
• Patient perception of disease and treatment influences their overall quality of life.