title: Social support for people with epilepsy in China.
abstract: The aim of this study was to better understand social support in adult people with epilepsy (PWE) in China and to explore the factors related to weaker or stronger social support in PWE when compared with a group of matching healthy controls. Consecutively, we recruited PWE from the epilepsy outpatient clinic of the West China Hospital and healthy controls from nearby urban and rural areas. People with epilepsy and healthy controls were gender- and age-matched. Each participant was interviewed and completed the following instruments: the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). In addition, we measured quality of life (QoL) in PWE using the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31). We compared the SSRS scores between PWE and healthy controls and searched for relevant factors using correlation and regression analyses. The results showed that PWE scored lower on the SSRS than healthy controls. For PWE, early onset and depression were related to weaker social support. In healthy controls, being married and being psychiatrically healthy (i.e., scored lower on the HADS) were related to stronger support. Family members, especially parents and spouses, were the most powerful supporters for PWE and healthy people, but PWE relied on their families to a greater extent. Early intervention and psychiatric treatment are important to address and improve social support for PWE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China.
authors.forename: Jiani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Pa
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China.
authors.forename: Chiyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China.
authors.forename: Minglian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China. Electronic address: zhoudong66@yahoo.de.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; Depression; Epilepsy; Onset age; Social support