ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: epilepsy is a common neurological disorder in developing countries, where its etiology is largely influenced by environmental irritants and the psychosocial consequences may be greater. The aim is to describe the clinical and psychosocial aspects of patients with focal epilepsy treated at a public hospital in the State of Alagoas.

METHOD: a cross-sectional study involving 277 individuals with focal epilepsy, aged 12-82 years-old, attending University Hospital from Federal University of Alagoas. Subjects underwent a semi-structured interview, covering clinical and psychosocial data, and complementary exams.

RESULTS : patients had a mean age of 32.2 years, 44.9% were illiterate or had not attended the first four years of primary education and 92.9% of patients had a monthly family income below 150 dollars per person. Among 37.5% of patients with epilepsy due to structural cause, perinatal injury was related to 27.9% of the cases. About 76.8% of adult patients reported some negative impact of epilepsy on their lives, wich was related to female gender and low family income.

CONCLUSION: patients have low education and family income a high frequency of epilepsy attributed to perinatal injury and of negative psychosocial impact of epilepsy in life.

Keywords: Adults, Brazil, Developing Countries, Epilepsy, Epileptic Seizures.