Health-related quality of life of Omani patients with epilepsy: Impact of fatigue, depression, sleep quality, medication adherence, interpersonal support, and stigma

Epilepsy or seizure disorder is a chronic disease in which patients are prone to recurrent seizures that are not associated with any central nervous system injury. It is estimated that more than 50 million people suffer from epilepsy worldwide. In Oman, the prevalence of epilepsy is currently unknown. Epilepsy can have a significant impact on the health-related quality of life of patients and their families. Many factors have been shown to affect epilepsy by aggravating the seizures and decreasing the quality of life of patients and these include fatigue, depression, sleep deprivation, non-adherence to medication and stigma. While studies about the factors impacting health-related quality of life among patients with epilepsy have received great attention from the Western world, studies among Omani patients with epilepsy are scarce. Therefore, the objective of this current study is to determine the health-related quality of life of Omani patients with epilepsy, investigating multiple variables including anxiety, depression, sleep quality, medication adherence, social support, and stigma. This study will allow us to assess which factors predict a poor health-related quality of life in patients with epilepsy, and this will allow us to establish health promotion, educational strategies, and prevention strategies to improve the quality of life of Omani patients with epilepsy.