INTRODUCTION: There is scientific evidence showing the contribution of physical activity (PA) for the quality of life of different individuals and populations, however there is still controversy about the benefits of PA for patients with epilepsy. In this study we investigated the relationship between PA and quality of life of patients with epilepsy. METHODS: We applied questionnaires for measuring PA, (IPAQ) and Quality of Life, QOLIE-31, to 20 individuals with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and divided the respondents in group A (active) and group C (inactive). We uses the SYSTAT9TM software with the Mann-Whitney U test to analyze differences in continuous variables between groups and Fisher's exact test to analyze the distribution of frequencies. We performed Pearson correlations between continuous variables. The level of significance was set to p<0.05. RESULTS: We observed better quality of life for patients who used to practice moderate physical activity more frequently. We identified a trend towards better quality of life for patients who work, compared to those who do not work. Worse quality of life was associated with fear of having seizures and older age. CONCLUSION: Our results, along with other evidence in the literature, suggest that people with epilepsy who have an active life, contrary to what many still believe, may experience a better quality of life. Therefore, we understand that beyond the physical and emotional benefits that PA provides for anyone, programs designed for PA may be an alternative way to improve the quality of life of individuals with epilepsy.
temporal lobe epilepsy; quality of life; physical activity
