Abstract, published in Epilepsy & Behavior
Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether gender influences the prediction of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in persons with newly diagnosed epilepsy (NDE).
Methods: This was a 1-year longitudinal study. Persons with NDE were assessed with the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 (QOLIE-31), the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), the Stigma Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with interaction terms was used.
Results: Among 134 adults with NDE, there were no gender differences in the scores of the QOLIE-31 and its subscales. A multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the HADS-anxiety scores at diagnosis (p = 0.005) and seizure recurrence after diagnosis (p = 0.050) negatively predicted QOLIE-31 scores in persons with NDE. There were significant effects of the gender interaction with seizure recurrence (F = 8.745, p = 0.004, partial eta2 = 0.066) and antiepileptic drug (AED) polytherapy (F = 6.320, p = 0.013, partial eta2 = 0.049) in the adjusted model. Specifically, seizure recurrence negatively predicted the quality of life scores only in men. By contrast, AED polytherapy negatively predicted the quality of life scores only in women.
Conclusions: There are gender differences in certain epilepsy-related factors predicting health-related quality of life at 1 year in persons with newly-diagnosed epilepsy.