Quality of life in epilepsy—31 inventory (QOLIE-31) scores: A global comparison

Quality of life is a pragmatic endpoint for understanding the experience of people with epilepsy (PWE) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where > 80% of PWE reside. However, the literature is bereft of QOL in epilepsy (QOLIE) studies among LMICs and knowledge of the variation in QOLIE globally. We therefore performed a Medline search of original research studies using the quality of life in epilepsy—31 inventory (QOLIE-31) in a recent fifteen-year period (2000–2015). Each of the 194 countries listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was individually included as search terms. Differences in QOLIE were tested across WHO world regions and World Bank country income group classifications. Sixteen percent of all countries (n = 31) reported on 7255 individuals, including only 8 LMICs. The global mean QOLIE-31 score was 59.8 (standard deviation (SD): 8.0), with a range from 42.1 (SD: 4.1) in the Russian Federation to 82 (SD: 32.8) in Canada. There was a statistically significant difference seen in the QOLIE-31 score by world region and income category, with lower country income level associated with worse QOL (test for trend, p < 0.0001). There exists substantial global variation in QOLIE, and country income level may play a role. Understanding what contributes to international differences in QOLIE can help reduce disparities in QOL among PWE worldwide.