Sleep Disturbances in Patient with Epilepsy and its Effect on the Quality of Life

Aim: Quality of life andsleepareinfluencedbymanyfactors in patientswithepilepsy. It is benefical to identify and resolve the factors that affect the quality of life for converting the results of the disease into positive. We investigated sleep disorders and the effect of these disorders on the quality of life in patient with epilepsy. Material and Method: 43 patient with epilepsy and 29 healthy volunteers were included in the study. The Beck Depression Scale (BDS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS), the Berlin Sleep Questionnaire (BSQ), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) were administered to all the participants in the study under the supervision of neurology specialist, Quality of life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-31) was also applied in patient with epilepsy. Scores from scales in patient with epilepsy were compared to scores from healthy volunteers’s scores and scores of scales that obtained patient with epilepsy compared to scores of QOLIE-31 form. Results: The scores of the ESS, BSQ and HAS in patient with epilepsy were significantly higher than the scores of the healthy controls. There was a linear, moderate, negative and statistically significant relationship between QOLIE-31 scores and SSS, PSQI, BDS and ESS scores in patient with epilepsy. Conclusion: Excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea and anxiety disorder is common in epilepsy. Poor sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness and depression negatively affect quality of life in patient with epilepsy. Early diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders in this group of patients is influential in converting the quality of life into positive