Abstracts

Rationale: Quality of life (QOL) issues pertaining to women with epilepsy (WWE) in pregnancy have not been well studied. Given that a significant portion of epilepsy patients are of reproductive age, there is a great need for better understanding of QOL issues in this population. We sought to identify differences in psychosocial and clinical factors that are associated with QOL of WWE in pregnancy vs. WWE not in pregnancy. Methods: A retrospective, quantitative study was performed. Surveys including Quality of life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-10), Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ-6), and Liverpool Adverse Event Profile (LAEP), a measure of patient perceived severity of anti-epileptic drug side effects, were administered to recently postpartum WWE and non-pregnant WWE of child bearing age. SSQ-6, LAEP scores, and clinical characteristics of WWE in pregnancy vs. WWE not in pregnancy were compared and correlated with QOL scores. Results: A total of 21 pregnant and 23 non-pregnant patients, followed for the past two years at Sunnybrook Hospital, epilepsy outpatient clinic, were recruited between September and December 2013. QOL scores did not differ significantly by group. Lower LAEP scores correlated significantly with higher QOL scores in both pregnant and non-pregnant patients (p<0.01). However, at higher levels of LAEP (LAEP >50), reflective of greater severity of medication side effects, pregnant patients retained a higher QOL while the non-pregnant group showed a decrease in QOL. Conclusions: Adverse medication side effects have a significantly negative impact on QOL of WWE in pregnancy. Pregnancy may serve as a protective factor and empower women to be more proactive in their care, thus rendering them more resilient. One of the first studies to investigate QOL issues in WWE in pregnancy, this study offers valuable insight and adds to the limited body of literature in this field.