Social consequences of epilepsy: A study of 231 Nigerian patients

Background: Epilepsy is the commonest neurological disorder and majority of the sufferers are found in the developing countries. It is associated with psychological and social problems. The aim of this study was to determine the social difficulties experienced by epileptic patients and the factors that are associated with these difficulties. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-one consecutive epileptic patients who were of age 10 years and above, and who had no co-morbid major psychiatric disorder, seen over a 6-month period at the outpatient clinic of Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, were interviewed. We used an instrument designed for the purpose of this study, which focused on people\u2032s attitudes to epilepsy, relationship/marital, employment and academic problems. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 28 \ub1 13.2 years; 59.3% were males; 44.6% said people make negative remarks about their illness; 14.1% have been denied leadership role; 36.4% were irregular at work; 37.3% performed poorly at work; 22.5% have had their marriage proposals rejected; 19.5% have been abandoned by spouse. At least 39.4% had poor academic performance while 19.5% were withdrawn from school because of epilepsy. Short seizure-free period, long duration of seizure disorder and family history of epilepsy were significantly associated with social problems. Conclusion: Social difficulties are common among epileptics. Effort should be made to educate the society about epilepsy, and physicians treating patients with epilepsy should aim at achieving a good seizure control.Arri\ue8re-plan: L\u2019\ue9pilepsie est la plus courante troubles neurologiques et la majorit\ue9 des malades se trouvent dans les pays en d\ue9veloppement. Elle est associ\ue9e \ue0 des probl\ue8mes psychologiques et sociaux. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude vise \ue0 d\ue9terminer les difficult\ue9s sociales rencontr\ue9es par les patients \ue9pileptiques et les facteurs qui sont associ\ue9s avec ces difficult\ue9s. M\ue9thodes: Patients \ue9pileptiques deux cent trente - un cons\ue9cutives, qui \ue9taient de 10 ans et plus et qui n\u2019avait aucun trouble psychiatrique majeur co-morbid, vu sur une p\ue9riode de 6 mois \ue0 la clinique externe de l\u2019h\uf4pital Neuropsychiatrique f\ue9d\ue9rale, Kaduna ont \ue9t\ue9 interrog\ue9s. Nous avons utilis\ue9 un instrument con\ue7u aux fins de cette \ue9tude qui a mis l\u2019accent sur les attitudes des peuples \ue0 l\u2019\ue9pilepsie, relation/matrimonial, l\u2019emploi et probl\ue8mes acad\ue9miques. R\ue9sultats: L\u2019\ue2ge moyen des sujets a \ue9t\ue9 28 \ub1 13.2 ans, 59.3% \ue9taient des hommes, 44.6% dit personnes formuler des remarques n\ue9gatives sur leur maladie, de 14.1% a \ue9t\ue9 refus\ue9 le r\uf4le de leadership, de 36.4% \ue9taient irr\ue9guli\ue8res au travail, 37.3% effectu\ue9 mal au travail, 22.5% ont eu leurs demandes en mariage a rejet\ue9, 19.5% ont \ue9t\ue9 abandonn\ue9s par les \ue9poux, 39.4% au moins eu mauvaise performance acad\ue9mique 19.5% ont \ue9t\ue9 retir\ue9s de l\u2019\ue9cole \ue0 cause de l\u2019\ue9pilepsie. Courte p\ue9riode sans saisie, longue dur\ue9e de troubles de saisie et des ant\ue9c\ue9dents familiaux de l\u2019\ue9pilepsie ont \ue9t\ue9 consid\ue9rablement associ\ue9s avec les probl\ue8mes sociaux. Conclusion: Les difficult\ue9s sociales sont communes entre epileptics. Effort, il convient d\u2019informer la soci\ue9t\ue9 sur l\u2019\ue9pilepsie et m\ue9decins traitant des patients atteints d\u2019\ue9pilepsie devraient viser \ue0 r\ue9aliser un contr\uf4le de la bonne saisie