@article{ref1,
title="Health status of people with epilepsy compared with a general reference population",
journal="Epilepsia",
year="2000",
author="Stavem, K. and Loge, J. H. and Kaasa, S.",
volume="41",
number="1",
pages="85-90",
abstract="PURPOSE: To study the impact of epilepsy in a representative sample of people with epilepsy and compare with a normal reference population. METHODS: We collected clinical and demographic data and information on health status by using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire in two populations: (a) 397 patients with confirmed epilepsy attending a county hospital during a 7-year period, and (b) 1,663 patients from a random sample representative of the entire national population. RESULTS: The respondents with epilepsy had well-regulated disease and showed the characteristics of a community sample: 70% had had no seizures during the last year, and 80% used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). On six of eight SF-36 scales, patients with epilepsy had lower scores than the normal reference population, and they were less likely to be married, employed, or a full-time student. Seizure-free patients with epilepsy had scores close to those of the normal reference population, with higher scores on the social functioning and mental health scales and lower on the role--emotional scale. There were no differences in health status scores between seizure-free patients using and not using AEDs. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that patients with well-regulated epilepsy have a health status at the level of a general reference population.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0013-9580",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}