# Evaluation of COVID-19 fear and sleep quality in individuals with epilepsy: a cross-sectional study

## TL;DR

This study found that people with epilepsy experienced moderate fear of COVID-19 and generally good sleep quality during the pandemic.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the psychological and sleep-related impacts of the pandemic on individuals with epilepsy.

## Key findings

- People with epilepsy had moderate levels of fear related to COVID-19.
- Sleep quality was generally good among participants.
- Fear levels were significantly influenced by working status and perceived health status.

## Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the COVID-19 fear and sleep quality of people with epilepsy.

The data of this descriptive study were collected from November 2021 to February 2022 with 92 people with epilepsy in the neurology department of a hospital in eastern Türkiye. The Descriptive Information Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and COVID-19 Fear Scale were used to collect the data for the study.

The mean COVID-19 score of people with epilepsy was found to be 13.55 ± 7.95, and the mean sleep quality score was 1.67 ± 1.69. Significant differences were detected in the mean fear scores of people with epilepsy according to their working status and perceived health status. It was also found that there was a significant correlation between the duration of epilepsy and sleep quality (p < 0.05). No significant differences were detected between the seizure types, number of seizures, number of medications used, presence of comorbid diseases, and fear and sleep quality (p > 0.05). No significant relations were detected between the sleep scale and its subcomponents and the COVID-19 Fear Scale (p > 0.05).

It was found that the COVID-19 fear levels of people with epilepsy were at a moderate level and their sleep quality was good.