Marital status of people with epilepsy in Korea.
A multicentre face-to-face interview was conducted to identify factors contributing to the marital status of people with epilepsy (PWE) in Korea. The marriage rate of PWEs was only 80% and the divorce rate was more than double that in the general population. Among the single subjects, 34% replied that they were unmarried because of epilepsy, and 76% of divorced PWEs replied that epilepsy was the cause of the divorce. The factors affecting the single and divorced status in PWEs included gender, an earlier onset of seizure and seizure onset before marriage. Not informing the spouse of the disease before marriage for fear of discrimination was not related to disadvantage in marriage negotiation or to divorce. Social stigmatization of epilepsy continues and impacts on the marital status of PWEs in Korea. However, there is no correlation between the perceived and the enacted stigmas of epilepsy.
Kim
Myeong-Kyu
MK
Department of Neurology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. mkkim@jnu.ac.kr
Kwon
Oh-Young
OY
Cho
Yong-Won
YW
Kim
Yosik
Y
Kim
Sung-Eun
SE
Kim
Hoo-Won
HW
Lee
Sang Kun
SK
Jung
Ki-Young
KY
Lee
Il Keun
IK
D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004243:Divorce / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult