Lifestyle Behavioral Interventions and Health-Related Outcomes Among People with Epilepsy: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVE: To gather and assess current literature on the prevalence and efficacy of lifestyle behavioral interventions (sleep, nutrition, physical activity) for health outcomes, including QOL, psychological well-being, behavioral changes, and seizure frequency, among PWE.

DATA SOURCE: A review was conducted of English-language articles identified from PubMed, Scopus, and Embase between January 2013 to January 2023.

STUDY INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials (RCT) with human subjects diagnosed with epilepsy who participated in a lifestyle behavioral intervention.

DATA EXTRACTION: Two researchers independently completed the title, abstract, and full-text reviews. Information extracted includes study population, duration, type of intervention, findings, and outcomes.

DATA SYNTHESIS: Data was narratively synthesized to show level of evidence and degree of consistency in findings. Results: 4001 studies identified, 66 full texts reviewed, and 24 included. A majority (n = 16) of studies utilized diet specific RCTs, and some focused on physical activity (n = 7) and sleep (n = 1). Diet-specific RCTs (eg, ketogenic, Modified Atkins) reported reduced seizure frequency with adverse effects, such as gastrointestinal complications. Physical activity-based interventions found that maintained levels of exercise improved QOL and psychological well-being. However, physical activity and diet-based interventions did not have lasting effects after study conclusion. Only the behavioral sleep intervention reported that sleep quality improved significantly and was maintained post-intervention.

CONCLUSION: Future research is needed to establish the relationship between lifestyle behavioral interventions on QOL and other health outcomes (eg, seizure frequency).