Purpose: To evaluate a brief questionnaire to screen aspects of health-related quality of life for persons with epilepsy.
Methods: A study of 304 adults with epilepsy was undertaken at 25 seizure clinics in the United States. It was used for derivation of a brief screening tool from a longer instrument (QOLIE-89).
Results: The 10-item questionnaire (QOLIE-10) covers general and epilepsy-specific domains, grouped into three factors: Epilepsy Effects (memory, physical effects, and mental effects of medication), Mental Health (energy, depression, overall quality of life), and Role Functioning (seizure worry, work, driving, social limits). Scale scores were significantly different among seizure groups (p = 0.003).
Conclusions: The QOLIE-10 can be completed by a patient in several minutes and reviewed rapidly by the physician. This screening tool could provide potentially useful information for initial assessment or follow-up of problem areas that are not commonly evaluated during routine clinical visits with patients with epilepsy.