An 8-year longitudinal assessment of health-related quality of life in children with epilepsy
Abstract
This study estimated the course of health-related quality of life (HRQL) over 8 years among children newly diagnosed with epilepsy. Levels of HRQL in children newly diagnosed with epilepsy were assessed over 8 years and compared to levels reported for peers in the general population. Data came from the Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Epilepsy Study, a multi-center prospective study of children in Canada with epilepsy. Parents of children with epilepsy reported their children were comparable to (or better than) their counterparts in the general population on the majority of individual health concepts 8 years post diagnosis. On average, fewer family resources, the presence of parental depressive symptoms, and cognitive problems are significantly associated with worse HRQL over time. Future research should focus on interventions that target parental depressive symptoms and family resources to improve the HRQL of individuals with childhood-onset epilepsy.