Abstract
Background: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of focal epilepsy and increases the risk of cognitive impairment, negatively impacting the quality of life of affected individuals. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate cognitive function in patients with low socioeconomic status affected by TLE and identify factors influencing such function. Methods: This case-control study, conducted between July 2021 and August 2022, compared the cognitive function of 40 patients affected by TLE to 92 healthy controls. The Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) was used for neurocognitive evaluation. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 25.0 for Windows. Results: The mean age of the patient group was 33.35 years, compared to 35.37 years in the control group. Moreover, 70% of patients affected by TLE displayed cognitive impairment and demonstrated lower performance in cognitive functions than the control group (P < 0.05). Significant correlations were identified between overall MoCA scores and several factors, including seizure frequency, educational level, polytherapy, disease duration, and self-esteem scores (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that seizure control and higher educational level were statistically significant predictors of overall MoCA scores in patients affected by TLE. Conclusions: In low-income patients affected by TLE, seizure control and a higher educational level emerged as predictors of cognitive performance. These findings underscore the importance of identifying and managing comorbidities and the need for tailored cognitive rehabilitation programs for this population.