Quality of Life and Psychiatric Aspects in Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by a spontaneous tendency for recurrent seizures which affects major aspects of a patient’s life, including cognitive, behavioral, psychological and social functioning (Foldwary & Wyllie, 1999). It has been reported that cumulative lifetime risks for epilepsy and for any unprovoked seizure are 3.1% and 4.1% respectively in industrialized countries. Estimates of annual incidence of epilepsy are reported as high as 43 cases per 100,000 of the population in so-called developed countries, and are almost double this figure in the developing world (McHugh & Delanty, 2008). Another estimation points out that there are 50 million people who have epilepsy in the world (WHO 2001, Leonardi & Ustun, 2002). It was suggested that more than 80% of people with epilepsy live in developing countries, where the condition remains largely untreated (ILAE/IBE/WHO Annual Report, 1999; Meinardi et al., 2001).