Academic and employment insertion as a factor related to quality of life in patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy.

INTRODUCTION

Academic and employment insertion is one of the issues that most concern people with epilepsy, but little is known about its relationship with quality of life.

AIM: We aimed to analyze the effects of the academic and employment insertion on quality of life, anxiety, depression, social support, and executive functions, and the relationships among these variables in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Fifty-nine patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy were classified into two groups: with academic or employment insertion (n = 25) and without insertion (n = 34) and underwent a neuropsychological evaluation.

RESULTS

Patients with insertion had a significantly better quality of life, lower trait anxiety, and higher social support, and tended to have a lower percentage of errors and higher percent conceptual level responses than those without insertion. Academic/employment insertion had indirect effects on quality of life through its relationship with global social support and trait anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide a model for understanding the quality of life in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy for an integral perspective of the patient and points out the key role of increased social support and reduced anxiety associated with academic and employment insertion to improve quality of life. These results could favor the implementation of programs that promote academic or employment reinsertion, considering the relevance of socio-emotional domains.