Quality of Life in Children Diagnosed with Epilepsy: An Analysis of Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders, Psychiatric Symptoms of Parents and Family Functionality

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the comorbid psychiatric disorders, psychiatric signs and symptoms of the mother and family functionality in children with epilepsy, as well as to examine the relationship between the mentioned variables and quality of life. Methods: The study was conducted with 31 children between the ages 8-11 with a diagnosis of epilepsy for at least 6 months and their mothers; and 30 healthy children of the similar age group and their mothers as the control group. Childhood Depression Inventory (CDI), Children State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-CH), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) was used for children in the Epilepsy and control groups, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and Family Assessment Device (FAD) was used for mothers in both groups. Results: According to the results of our study the CDI scores of children in the epilepsy group were found to be significantly higher than of those in the control group. No significant difference was found between both groups in terms of their STAI-CH scores, as well as in terms of total STAI and SCL-90-R scores of mothers in both groups. However, the Ange and Hostility subscale scores of mothers in the epilepsy group were found to be significantly higher than of those in the control group. In addition, the PedsQL total and subscale points of children in the epilepsy group were found to be significantly lower than of those in the control group. Finally, a negative correlation has been detected between the PedsQL scores of the epilepsy group and the children's CDI and STAI-CH scores, the STAI and SCL-90-R scores of the mothers and the FAD scores. Moreover, it was determined that the depression level of the children in the epilepsy group had a significant effect on the quality of life. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a correlation between the quality of life in children with epilepsy and the psychiatric symptoms of children and mothers as well as family functionality.