Social problems of adolescent and adult epileptics in a developing country, as seen in Lagos, Nigeria

Adolescent and adult epileptics attending the Neurology Clinic were interviewed about their social problems. Forty-nine percent were attending normal school; a third of these believed that seizure disorder affected their school performance. Of 40% who had attended school but left, about half withdrew from school prematurely because of the frequency of their seizures. Ninety percent of those who could be employed had jobs. About a third of these had lost income because of the illness. Self-employed patients were most affected. Very few patients lost their jobs despite most employers' knowledge of their employees' epilepsy. About one-sixth had lost friends or spouses because of epilepsy and a few had withdrawn from social activities for fear of having a seizure in public. Others had no problems interacting with other members of the society. Most of the patients claimed they took antiepileptic drugs regularly. One third had difficulty paying for these drugs. One quarter denied being epileptics. In conclusion, the social difficulties of adolescent and adult epileptics in Nigeria are similar to those of epileptics elsewhere. Educational problems are most common and these are related to poor seizure control. This is partly due to financial difficulties in obtaining drugs regularly.