Estigma, depressão e qualidade de vida em pacientes com epilepsia de difícil controle

Abstract

Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disorder worldwide. It is estimated that about 100 million people will present it at some point in their lives. It is a disease whose psychosocial consequences are as important as its symptoms, and the stigma is one of the biggest challenges faced by patients. Besides the stigma, epilepsy can increase vulnerability to mental disorders such as depression and impair the quality of life of patients. The objective of this study is to identify between patients with epilepsy the perception of stigma, their quality of life and the presence of symptoms of depression. The study included 49 patients attended at the refractory epilepsy clinic at the Hospital de Base in São José do Rio Preto. Method: approved Project by the Research Ethics Committee of FAMERP (217/2011). Patients who fit the inclusion criteria were invited to participate in order of arrival to attend the Clinic for medical consultation. They answered questionnaires about stigma, quality of life (Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31) and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results: There was important dispersion in quality of life and perception of stigma. More than half of participants had symptoms of depression and at list 24% of them had such symptoms in moderate to severe levels. There was a positive correlation between perception of seizure control with time without crises and performing surgery. The sense of seizure control was also positively correlated with quality of life and negatively correlated with stigma. Also were observed correlations between the time without crises and stigma experienced by participants. The data indicate the existence of positive correlation between symptoms of depression and stigma sense, meanwhile, a negative correlation between depression and quality of life was found. The results show that epilepsy has negative impacts on the physical and mental health of the person suffering from the disease, making its effects end up going far beyond seizures. Thus, the intervention should not be limited only to drug treatment, but also the multidisciplinary approach to health promotion, in an attempt to reduce stigma sense.