Introduction: Focal epilepsy accounts for 60% of all clinical epilepsy cases, while temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) accounts for 40%. Cognitive impairment such as language, attention, executive function, and memory impairment are common in temporal lobe epilepsy, and researchers believe that seizure frequency and duration can cause severe hippocampal sclerosis, as well as a secondary impact on neuronal metabolism and structure, which leads to cognitive impairment.
Aim: The goal is to determine the cognitive impairment of temporal lobe epilepsy, the clinical characteristics and risk factors.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 50 adults with temporal lobe epilepsy from the National Center for Mental Health used a questionnaire and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
Results: We included 50 adults aged 26 to 61 with temporal lobe epilepsy, 52% of respondents were male, 48% were female, with an average age of 43.78±8.20 years. The study found that 92% of individuals showed cognitive impairment, with mean MoCA scores of 17.50±4.57. Long lasting seizure is a high-risk factor for cognitive function, with statistical significance (p=0.03). Seizure onset age was linked with increased attention impairments and poor visuospatial function (p=0.005), while higher seizure frequency was associated with decreased calculation (p=0.04), language (p=0.009), and drawing skills (p=0.013).
Conclusion: Our study found that 58% of respondents showed moderate cognitive impairment. Low education level, earlier age of seizure onset, high seizure frequency, extended seizure duration, presence of aura, and refractory temporal lobe epilepsy all have a statistically significant effect on cognitive impairment.