scholarly journals Comorbid mental disorders and quality of life of people with epilepsy attending primary health care clinics in rural Ethiopia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0238137
Author(s):  
Ruth Tsigebrhan ◽  
Abebaw Fekadu ◽  
Girmay Medhin ◽  
Charles R. Newton ◽  
Martin J. Prince ◽  
...  

Background Evidence from high-income countries demonstrates that co-morbid mental disorders in people with epilepsy adversely affect clinical and social outcomes. However, evidence from low-income countries is lacking. The objective of this study was to measure the association between co-morbid mental disorders and quality of life and functioning in people with epilepsy. Methods A facility-based, community ascertained cross-sectional survey was carried out in selected districts of the Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Participants were identified in the community and referred to primary health care (PHC) clinics. Those diagnosed by PHC workers were recruited. Co-morbid mental disorders were measured using a standardised, semi-structured clinical interview administered by mental health professionals. The main outcome, quality of life, was measured using the Quality of Life in Epilepsy questionnaire (QOLIE-10p). The secondary outcome, functional disability, was assessed using the 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS-2). Results The prevalence of comorbid mental disorders was 13.9%. Comorbid mental disorders were associated with poorer quality of life (Adjusted (Adj.) β -13.27; 95% CI -23.28 to-3.26) and greater disability (multiplier of WHODAS-2 score 1.62; 95% CI 1.05, 2.50) after adjusting for hypothesised confounding factors. Low or very low relative wealth (Adj. β = -12.57, 95% CI -19.94 to-5.20), higher seizure frequency (Adj.β coef. = -1.92, 95% CI -2.83 to -1.02), and poor to intermediate social support (Adj. β coef. = -9.66, 95% CI -16.51 to -2.81) were associated independently with decreased quality of life. Higher seizure frequency (multiplier of WHODAS-2 score 1.11; 95% CI 1.04, 1.19) was associated independently with functional disability. Conclusion Co-morbid mental disorders were associated with poorer quality of life and impairment, independent of level of seizure control. Integrated and comprehensive psychosocial care is required for better health and social outcomes of people with epilepsy.

Author(s):  
Assis do Carmo Pereira Júnior ◽  
Adriana Inocenti Miasso ◽  
Paulo Celso Prado Telles Filho ◽  
Ellen Carolina Dias Castilho ◽  
Kelly Graziani Giacchero Vedana

Author(s):  
Manal Badrasawi ◽  
May Hamdan ◽  
Mohammad Al Tamimi

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a lifelong metabolic disease with a high rate of mortality and morbidity. Uncontrolled and untreated diabetes results in serious complications that subsequently cause patients’ quality of life (QoL) to deteriorate. Adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) may relieve the complications of diabetes, thereby improving the quality of life for these patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the QoL of DM patients who adhered to MD. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we examined the QoL and MD data of 106 DM II patients being treated at a primary health care clinic in Hebron. We used the SF-36 questionnaire to measure the patients’ QoL and the MEDAS tool to assess their MD adherence. We also recorded their anthropometric measurements, abdominal obesity, lifestyle habits and blood biochemical results. RESULTS: The sample comprised male and female DM II patients between the ages of 35 and 72, with their mean age being 55.8±10.24. Patients’ QoL scores showed a significant relationship with three BMI categories, i.e., total QoL score, physical function, and pain domains (p <  0.05). In terms of diet, high adherence to MD had a positive impact on all domains and on patients’ total QoL with significant differences in physical functioning, emotional well-being, social functioning and pain domains. CONCLUSION: Patients’ QoL domains were relatively low and highly affected by DM II. Patients with greater MD adherence reported higher scores in all QoL domains. Significantly higher scores were noted for the physical, social and pain domains. Hence, MD is a recommended dietary pattern for DM II patients to achieve a better QoL.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Tsigebrhan ◽  
Abebaw Fekadu ◽  
Girmay Medhin ◽  
Charles R. Newton ◽  
Martin J. Prince ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Timely detection and management of comorbid mental disorders in people with epilepsy is essential to improve outcomes. The objective of this study was to measure the performance of primary health care (PHC) workers in identifying comorbid mental disorders in people with epilepsy against a standardised reference diagnosis and a screening instrument in rural Ethiopia.Methods: People with active convulsive epilepsy were identified from the community, with confirmatory diagnosis by trained PHC workers. Documented diagnosis of comorbid mental disorders by PHC workers was extracted from clinical records. The standardized reference measure for diagnosing mental disorders was the Operational Criteria for Research (OPCRIT plus) administered by psychiatric nurses. The mental disorder screening scale (Self-Reporting Questionnaire; SRQ-20), was administered by lay data collectors. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of PHC worker diagnosis against the reference standard diagnosis was calculated. Logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with misdiagnosis of comorbid mental disorder by PHC workers. Results: A total of 237 people with epilepsy were evaluated. The prevalence of mental disorders with standardised reference diagnosis was 13.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 9.6%, 18.2%) and by PHC workers was 6.3% (95%CI 3.2%, 9.4%). The prevalence of common mental disorder using SRQ-20 at optimum cut-off point (9 or above) was 41.5% (95% CI 35.2%, 47.8%). The sensitivity and specificity of PHC workers diagnosis was 21.1% and 96.1%, respectively, compared to the standardised reference diagnosis. In those diagnosed with comorbid mental disorders by PHC workers, only 6 (40%) had SRQ-20 score of 9 or above. When a combination of both diagnostic methods (SRQ-20 score ≥9 and PHC diagnosis of depression) was compared with the standardised reference diagnosis of depression, sensitivity increased to 78.9% (95% (CI) 73.4, 84.4%) with specificity of 59.7% (95% CI 53.2, 66.2%). Only older age was significantly associated with misdiagnosis of comorbid mental disorders by PHC (adjusted odds ratio, 95% CI= 1.06, 1.02 to 1.11).Conclusion: Routine detection of co-morbid mental disorder in people with epilepsy was very low. Combining clinical judgement with use of a screening scale holds promise but needs further evaluation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Monteiro Silva ◽  
Alfredo Nicodemos Cruz Santana ◽  
Nayhane Nayara Barbosa da Silva ◽  
Maria Rita Carvalho Garbi Novaes

OBJECTIVE: To determine Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) and WHOQOL-bref cutoff points to detect poor quality of life (QoL) in older individuals. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, performed in all primary health care units in Samambaia, DF, Brazil. The data were collected from August 2016 to May 2017. The sample size of 466 older individuals treated in primary health care was obtained considering a 5% margin of error, 95% confidence level, 50% prevalence, and 20% possible losses, in a population of 13,259 older individuals. The subjects answered the VES-13 and WHOQOL-bref questionnaires. They were divided into 3 subgroups: poorQoL (older individuals with self-reported very poor or poor QoL AND very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with their health), goodQoL (very good or good QoL AND very satisfied or satisfied with Health) and indeterminateQoL (NOT belonging to poorQoL or goodQoL subgroups). A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed with poorQoL (case) versus goodQoL (control) to determine the cutoff score in VES-13 and WHOQOLbref. A diagnostic test using these cutoffs was carried out in all older individuals (n = 466). RESULTS: The VES-13 and WHOQOL-bref cutoff points to detect poorQoL were ≥ 2 and < 60, respectively. The area under ROC curve of VES-13 and WHOQOL-bref was 0.741 (CI95% 0.659- 0.823; p < 0.001) and 0.934 (CI95% 0.881-0.987; p < 0.001), respectively. In diagnostic tests, VES-13 showed 84% sensitivity and 98.2% negative predictive value, and WHOQOL-bref, 88% sensitivity and 99% negative predictive value. CONCLUSIONS: VES-13 score ≥ 2 and WHOQOL-bref score < 60 adequately detected poorQoL in patients treated in primary health care. Our data suggest that older individuals with these scores require special treatment such as geriatrics collaborative care to improve this scenario, considering QoL impact on mortality.


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