Seizure Frequency and Major Life Events in Epilepsy

Abstract

A group of 18 patients with chronic epilepsy were followed in an outpatient clinic for 1-6 years. Month-by-month seizure records were kept and the response to treatment was systematically explored. The present study was prompted when three patients became seizure-free, apparently in response to major life events (marriage, parenthood, and retirement) rather than to changes in treatment. All the subjects were interviewed in their own homes with a companion, friend, or relative present. The interview was based on a standard instrument (Life Experiences Survey, LES). The home environment was chosen to facilitate recall of events and to enable subjects to confirm dates. The seizure record was then compared with the parallel life events record. Two methods of analysis were adopted. In the first, each life event was assumed to have impact on seizure frequency only during the month in which it occurred; life event months were compared with non-life-event months. In the second, a life event was considered a watershed; seizure frequencies before and after the event were compared. Nonparametric statistical methods were used. These approaches revealed associations between life events and seizure frequency in three additional patients (total six). Most of the patients who showed an association experienced partial seizures.

Quality of Life and Personality in Adults with Epilepsy

“…This suggests that personality characteristics are the main factors influencing general well-being. Thus, for these patients, psychological therapy and treatment should increase their general well-being and their quality of life (17). It was reported that psychic stimulation predisposes epilepsy to patients with seizure attacks.…”

“…Twenty; one graduated from college, 36 from senior middle school, 53 from junior middle school, and 7 from primary school. Patients had had seizures for an average of 17.2 years (range, 2 months-30 years). Eighty-five of the case patients had had epilepsy for at least 1 year.…”

Behavioral intervention as an add-on therapy in epilepsy: Designing a clinical trial

“…In questionnaire studies, stress is endorsed as a trigger, or precipitant, by more than 50% of people with epilepsy [20,23], while major life events are associated with seizure exacerbation in 8% to 50% of patients [6,12,24,25]. In prospective diary studies, both daily stress and stressful life events have been linked to increased seizure frequency [7,13,17,26,27]. For example, Temkin and Davis [26] and Haut et al [7] reported that risk of seizure increased in relation to increases in reported daily stress levels, while Neugebauer [17] showed that stressful major life events led to an increase in seizure occurrence.…”

Discrimination, domestic violence, abuse, and other adverse life events in people with epilepsy: Population‐based study to assess the burden of these events and their contribution to psychopathology

“…The experience of stressful life events has been studied in relation to seizure frequency 21 , epilepsy onset 22 and in studies comparing people with epilepsy with people with non-epileptic attack disorder 19,[23][24][25] . Stressful life events have also been proposed to have an epileptogenic effect in addition to being associated with psychopathology 26 .…”