Impacts of emotional health and quality of life on the cognitive functions of epileptics / 医学研究生学报

ABSTRACT

Objective At present, the risk factors for cognitive impairment in epilepsy patients are not quite clear.This study was to explore the impacts of the clinical features, emotional health and quality of life (QOL) on the cognitive function of the adult patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Methods Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scales, we evaluated the cognitive functions of the 109 adult epileptics of the outpatient clinic of neurology in Jinling Hospital.We assessed their emotional health with Hamilton Depression Scale-24 (HAMD-24), estimated their QOL with Quality Of Life in Epilepsy-31 (QOLIE-31), and collected their baseline clinical data by questionnaire survey.Results There were 67 cases of MCI (61.5%) among the 109 patients.The residential area was the strongest predictor of MCI in the adult epileptics (OR=0.226, 95% CI: 0.082-0.627).Among other risk factors of post-epileptic MCI were the total scores of HAMD-24 (OR=0.770, 95% CI: 0.644-0.921) and QOLIE-31 (OR=0.712, 95% CI: 0.575-0.880), QOL (OR=1.070, 95% CI: 1.015-1.128), cognitive function (OR=1.120, 95% CI: 1.043-1.203), and social function (OR=1.103, 95% CI: 1.035-1.175).Conclusion The incidence of MCI is high in adult patients with epilepsy.The development and progression of post-epileptic MCI can be delayed by more emphasis on the evaluation of cognitive function, emotional health, and quality of life.