By: Fiza Nadeem
An Review of Socioeconomic Status and Epilepsy
Introduction:
Rehana Huber and Peter Weber did a systematic review, focusing on the association of SES factors, adherence, prevalence, and outcomes in children with epilepsy. Huber and Weber (2022) reported that studies have pointed out a significant relation between socioeconomic status and brain maturation in children with neurological conditions since they are disadvantaged, making them prone to experiencing acute illnesses, chronic health conditions, developmental delays, and disorders.
The impact of a person’s socioeconomic background on epilepsy has not been taken into consideration; therefore, Huber and Weber took it upon themselves to research if there is a relationship between prevalence, adherence, and socioeconomic status in children with a neurological condition such as epilepsy (Huber & Weber, 2022). The researchers particularly looked at adherence—in other words, how well a child follows the treatment prescribed, such as taking antiepileptic drugs, which are important for their treatment. It is reported that nonadherence to antiepileptic drugs is extremely harmful, as it has negative outcomes such as increased mortality, limited efficacy of treatment, high costs, high healthcare utilization, and a low health-related quality of life (Huber & Weber, 2022).
The researcher methods used
In order to look at how socioeconomic status is associated with epilepsy, the researchers did a systematic review on databases such as PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase using keywords and operators (Huber & Weber, 2022). For further selection, the authors reviewed the manuscripts in two steps: (1) screening the abstract and (2) assessing the suitability of the manuscript
(Huber & Weber, 2022).
Furthermore, the authors included inclusion, exclusion, and data extraction criteria:
● The inclusion criteria consisted of abstracts published in the English language, a relationship described between socioeconomic status and epilepsy in the abstract, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, observational and interventional studies (Huber & Weber, 2022).
● An exclusion criteria list was included with the following criteria: nonhuman studies, narrative reviews, abstracts not in the English language, and studies that did not mention children or adolescents (Huber & Weber, 2022)
● Huber and Weber (2022) took data from the articles such as authors, the year the paper was published, the number of children and their age range, the country the study was done in, the type of study conducted, the different types of socioeconomic factors, main results, and the outcome criteria.
Summary of the Results and the Limitations
To summarize, the researchers found that adherence was a main component in influencing socioeconomic factors. These factors included income, education, marital status,
and race (Huber & Weber, 2022). Furthermore, other research papers showed a link between different outcomes and socioeconomic factors of the caregiver, which impacted outcomes such as academic achievement, the area the caregiver resides, annual income, and occupation (Huber & Weber, 2022). In return, the circumstances of the caregiver impacted children in different ways, such as their school performance, quality of life, probability of the child’s seizure freedom, and the risk of unemployment later in life (Huber & Weber, 2022).
Huber & Weber have stated that the role of a caregiver’s socioeconomic status and its influence on variables such as adherence and prevalence have not been studied systematically, which means there can be potential bias in the research.
Additionally, it was also pointed out that there is a need to inquire about information regarding the income of the parent, but it can appear indiscreet when asking the parent (Huber & Weber, 2022). However, it was suggested by Huber and Weber to ask the caregiver about their level of education and occupation, as this can indicate if a child comes from a low or high socioeconomic background (Huber & Weber, 2022). Knowing the socioeconomic status allows doctors to provide information to the caregivers, such as government programs, social services, and health insurance companies, which will benefit the child. For instance, reducing the visits to the hospital can help the child’s health and lower the costs of transportation and health care (Huber & Weber, 2022). Despite the physical aspects having to be addressed, a child’s psychological and social well-being needs to be taken into consideration, as the researchers have pointed out (Huber & Weber, 2022). For example, it means a parent must take the responsibility to ensure their child receives support from a psychotherapist throughout their journey. Physical and mental well-being work interchangeably, which means a caregiver should not address one problem but ignore the other, because it can have consequences for the child in the future.
Overall, the systematic review of Rehana Huber and Peter Weber has demonstrated that the role of socioeconomic status and adherence correlate, in return impacting the physical and mental well-being of many children. They do not only impact the well-being of the child but also their caregiver, because their circumstances become a burden in the way of trying to provide support for the child. It impacts the parent mentally, which can cause issues physically. As a result, we need more support from institutions such as governments and an improved healthcare system for those who cannot afford it.
References
Huber, Rehana , and Peter Weber. 2022. “Is There a Relationship between Socioeconomic Factors and Prevalence, Adherence and Outcome in Childhood Epilepsy? A Systematic Scoping Review.” European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 28 (1090-3798,). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpn.2022.01.021..
