The epilepsy diagnostic breaks the way people used to perceive themselves, and tends to destroy their social and economical life, as well as their plans for the future. This study searched for the evaluation of psychological variables (perception of seizure control) and the illness characteristics determining the quality of life (QoL) in patients with the diagnostic of epilepsy for over two years. The sample consisted of 60 individuals with chronic epilepsy, aging 18 to 70 (M = 37.05; SD = 11.25), chosen at random from the outpatient clinic of epilepsy - University Hospital of Campinas /UNICAMP and evaluated by means of the Questionnaire of Quality of Life 65 (QQV-65). The illness characteristics were not statistically significant, except the seizures frequency, when associated to the impairment in QoL among controlled seizures and seizures with frequency higher than 10 per month (p = 0.021). The perception of control was significantly associated to QoL (p = 0.005). The seizures subjective understanding controls the adjustment to the disease and the sense of well being and explains why the QoL is better when the individual does not have any seizure.
quality of life; perception of seizures control; epilepsy; psychological variables
