Abstracts

A significant proportion of adults with epilepsy are over the age of 60 (Hauser, 1992). Due to health issues related to advancing age, epilepsy and side effects of AEDs, aspects of quality of life are a concern for this population. A comparison of quality of life issues between a sample of elderly with and without epilepsy is described. Thirty elderly adults 60 years of age and older without epilepsy (EA) (12 males, 17 females) were compared to a sample of 27 elderly adults with epilepsy (EAE) (14 males, 11 females). All subjects were living independently in the community. EA were older (M= 71.97 SD= 5.48 ) than EAE (M= 64.41 SD= 3.81). Inclusion criteria for EAE were a seizure occurrence within the last 12 months and seizure disorder not resulting from stroke or TBI. Quality of life was assessed using the Older Americans Resource Survey (Fillenbaum, 1988), a self-report instrument containing 5 subscales (social resources, economic resources, mental health, physical health, ADL) and a cumulative score. Three subscales of the OARS showed significantly lower scores for EAE; mental health, physical health, and ADL scores (see Table 1). Additionally, EAE were significantly more likely to be dependent on others for transportation (U=.001) and EA were more likely to have hearing impairments (U=.02). Assessment outcomes reveal poorer quality of life in EAE in the areas of mental and physical health and activities of daily living, in spite of the fact that the EAE sample was considerably younger than the EA comparison group. These findings underscore the need for further study regarding quality of life issues in EAE, particularly aspects of physical and mental health and their impact on a person[apos]s ability to manage personal care (ADL). Such findings may also reflect a need to provide careful follow-up and education in aspects of care such as medication compliance with EAE.[table1] (Supported by Center for Disease Control and Prevention.)