Illness Perception is a Predictor of Medication Adherence and Health Related Quality of Life in Patients Living with Epilepsy

Objective: To determine the relationship between illness perception, medication adherence and health related quality of life in patients living with epilepsy.

Design: A cross-sectional prospective survey among patients living with epilepsy recruited from two tertiary referral centers in Nigeria.

Methods: Patients’ illness perception, adherence to antiepileptic drugs, and health related quality of life were determined using the brief illness perception questionnaire (BIPQ), the eight-item Morisky medication adherence scale (MMAS-8), and the patient weighted quality of life in epilepsy instrument (QOLIE-10-P) respectively. Correlation and linear regression analysis were used to test the relationship between the assessment variables. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results: Multivariate linear regression revealed that patients’ medication adherence score was predicted by their illness perception score (B = -0.030; p = 0.033). Also, patients’ QOLIE score was predicted by their illness perception score (B = -0.318; p = 0.0001).

Conclusion: In patients living with epilepsy, illness perception is a predictor of their adherence to antiepileptic drug regimen and their health-related quality of life.