Preventive Medicine & Public Health

Biography

Hala Khalil holds a doctoral degree from School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sport Sciences, UCD, Ireland in the field of public health. She also obtained a master degree in biology from McGill University, Canada. She has been working as a researcher at the department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Scientific Computing (BESC); at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC). In the course of her career she has successfully published and co-authored a number of research papers and presented her work as oral and poster presentations in various national and international conferences.

 

Abstract

Introduction

People with epilepsy are at increased risk of poor mental health and reduced quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to investigate the components of the biopsychosocial model as predictors of self-reported QoL in Saudi Arabian patients with seizure disorders.

Methods

Questionnaires were administered by interview to adult patients attending neurology outpatient clinics at KFSHRC-Riyadh between January and October 2018. Age, gender, seizure characteristics, socioeconomic indicators, and self-reported physical and mental health were investigated as predictors of self-reported QoL. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to account for confounders.

Results

A total of 396 patients were included in the study. Unemployed persons were significantly less likely to report good QoL compared to employed persons (OR=0.6, 95%CI 0.4-0.9 p=0.03). Women receiving welfare were less likely to report good QoL (OR=0.36, 95%CI 0.2-0.7 p<0.001), and married men were more likely to have good QoL (OR=4.2, 95%CI 1.7-10.4 p<0.001).

Good physical health (OR=2.6, 95%CI 1.7-4.0 p<0.001) and good mental health (OR=3.7, 95%CI 2.4-5.6 p<0.001) were associated with higher odds of QoL. In adjusted models, self-reported good mental health remained a significant predictor in both men (OR=6.5, 95%CI 2.7-15.5 p<0.001) and women (OR=2.5, 95%CI 1.1-5.8 p=0.03), while physical health was no longer significant. Seizure in the last three months and type of seizure were similarly unrelated to QoL.

Conclusion

In patients with seizure disorders, social and psychological factors appear to have a greater relationship to quality of life compared to disease activity. Efforts should be directed towards improving social and mental health supports.