Objectives:

The aim of the present descriptive study was to determine the effect of patient compliance with antiepileptic drug therapy on quality of life.

Methods:

The study population comprised 115 patients with epilepsy who applied to the neurology clinic of a state hospital in western Turkey between February and December 2011. Ethics committee approval and informed consent were obtained. Data were collected using a personal information form and the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-89 (QOLIE–89) in face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics, parametric tests, and non-parametric tests were used to evaluate data.

Results:

Mean age of the population was 36.10±14.95 years, and mean age at onset was 21.35±17.00. Males comprised 50.4% of the population, and 59.1% of patients took medication regularly. Patients received the highest scores on the subscales of language, social isolation, and physical function, and the lowest on the subscales of health perception, energy/fatigue, and seizure concerns. Total QOLIE-89 scores were found to be slightly above average, while subscale scores were generally below. There were significant differences between QOLIE-89 subscale scores and rates of regular medication use (p<0.05); subscale scores were higher, as were indications of quality of life.

Conclusion:

Quality of life was found to be low. Patients and their relatives should be better informed of the benefits of treatment compliance on quality of life.

Keywords: Antiepileptic drugs, epilepsy, treatment compliance, quality of life