Quality of life in pediatric epilepsy: demographic and disease-related predictors and comparison with healthy controls

The purpose of the present study was to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with epilepsy with that of healthy controls and to examine predictors of HRQOL, including current treatment, seizure severity, and comorbid neurological impairments. The epilepsy group consisted of 41 children, aged 4–19 years. The control group consisted of 41 age-matched healthy children seen for well child care in a community pediatric practice. Results demonstrated that the HRQOL of the epilepsy group was significantly more limited than that of the control group. For children with epilepsy, comorbid neurological impairments and number of antiepileptic medications were associated with diminished HRQOL. Duration of illness, age of onset, seizure severity, and treatment type were not predictive of diminished HRQOL. The present findings suggest that presence of comorbid neurological impairments and number of medications are the best predictors of reduced HRQOL in children with epilepsy and may present a subgroup of patients with additional treatment needs.