Sex differences in marital status of people with epilepsy in Northeast China: An observational study

Marriage and childbearing in patients with epilepsy in Turkey

Introduction

For epilepsy, a common neurological disorder, brings psychosocial challenges like stigma, employment difficulties, and barriers to marriage and childbearing. Stigma often stems from misconceptions and societal beliefs, particularly in less developed regions like Turkey. However, research on the marital and childbearing experiences of epilepsy patients in such settings is limited. We aimed to research the marriage and childbearing behaviors of men and women with epilepsy.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 215 adult epilepsy patients at Antalya Training and Research Hospital between 2019 and 2022. Patients were asked questions about marriage and having children on prepared questionnaires.

Result

The gender distribution of the 215 patients included in the study was revealed to be 62.3% (134) females and 37.7% (81) males. 71.6% of patients were married, and 12.7% had no children. 33.3% of these patients stated that they did not desire children because of the disease. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the duration of the disease and being unmarried. A significant correlation was observed between age at disease onset and number of children.

Conclusion

Our study revealed the effects of individuals with epilepsy on marriage and childbearing, and as we know, it is the first study conducted in Turkey on childbearing attitudes in individuals with epilepsy. Despite medical and social developments, epilepsy is still one of the most stigmatized diseases, and the disease has considerable negative effects on marriage and fertility. Our study supported the findings of a small number of previous similar studies on this subject and additionally showed that the likelihood of having children decreased in patients using multiple ASM, and on the other hand, it showed that marriage positively affected patients in terms of social support.

Social support for and features of Chinese adults with epilepsy

Background

The lack of social support for adults with epilepsy (AWEs) is receiving increased attention, as it may result in low quality of life. This study was aimed to confirm the demographic characteristics of and clinical factors associated with social support for AWEs.

Methods

AWEs were consecutively recruited from our hospital. The 10-term Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) was used to measure social support. A linear regression analysis with stepwise selection was performed to analyze the independent variables associated with social support for AWEs.

Results

In total, 165 AWEs were consecutively included in the present study. Linear regression analysis showed that the marital status (t = -3.550, β = -0.272, P = 0.001), the age at onset (t = 2.545, β = 0.192, P = 0.012), and the QOLIE-31 score (t = 3.144, β = 0.221, P = 0.002) were independent variables associated with social support for AWEs.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the poor social support is associated with childhood onset of epilepsy and the unmarried status. This study also confirmed a negative influence of low social support on quality of life in AWEs.

Social Isolation and Associated Factors in Chinese Adults With Epilepsy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of social isolation and associated factors among adults with epilepsy in northeast China. Methods: A cohort of consecutive patients with epilepsy (PWE) from the First Hospital of Jilin University (Changchun, China) was recruited. Demographic and clinical data for each patient were collected during a face-to-face interview. Social isolation was measured using the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index (SNI), and the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E) and Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31) were also administered. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the factors associated with social isolation in PWE. Results: A total of 165 patients were included in the final analysis. The mean SNI score was 2.56 (SD: 1.19), and 35 patients (21.2%) were socially isolated. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, higher depressive symptom levels (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.003-1.318, P = 0.045) and poorer quality of life (OR = 0.967, 95% CI: 0.935-0.999, P = 0.047) emerged as independent factors associated with social isolation in PWE. Conclusion: Social isolation is common and occurs in approximately one-fifth of PWE. Social isolation is significantly associated with depressive symptoms and poor quality of life in PWE. Patients need to be encouraged to actively integrate with others and reduce social isolation, which may help improve their quality of life.

Marital status in young adult patients with seizures: Epilepsy vs. functional seizures

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the marital status (married vs. none) among patients with seizures [i.e., epilepsy or functional seizures (FS)].

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of an electronic database of patients with seizures. All young adult patients, 18 to 45 years of age, with a diagnosis of either epilepsy or FS were studied at the outpatient epilepsy clinic at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, from 2008 until 2020. The two groups were matched for their age at diagnosis. Age at onset, sex, the marital status, and the final diagnosis were registered routinely.

RESULTS

During the study period, 194 patients with FS and 455 patients with epilepsy fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The rates of the married status were not significantly different between the two groups; 101 patients with FS (52%) and 204 PWE (45%) were married (p = 0.103). In the general population in Iran, 42,399,792 out of 66,421,989 (64%) of all people older than 16 years of age were married. This rate is significantly higher than the rate of the married status among patients with FS (p = 0.0006) and also those with epilepsy (p = 0.00001).

CONCLUSION

While the rates of the married status were not significantly different between PWE and those with FS, these rates were significantly lower than that in the general population in Iran. There are intriguing cross-cultural similarities and differences between our observations and those from other nations. These should be investigated in large multicenter international studies in the future.