Epilepsy is one of the most important neurological diseases with prolonged morbidity and disability
leading to profound fi nancial loss. There have not been many studies investigating factors infl uencing
the quality of life in an epilepsy patient in India. This study was conducted among the epilepsy patients
attending a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal, India. Two hundred and four epilepsy patients attending
the Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Neuromedicine, Medical College, Kolkata were interviewed
with the Bengali version of QOLIE 9 (i.e. Quality of life in Epilepsy 9 questionnaire). The mean of
total QOLIE score was 18.02 ± 4.87, the range being 10 to 30. Multiple linear regression analysis
revealed that workdays lost due to epilepsy in last three months, use of two or more antiepileptic
drugs, higher frequency of seizure, and longer time gap between onset of seizure and consultation
with neurologist were signifi cant predictors for poorer quality of life score in the epilepsy patient.