Gender differences in seizure recurrence and antiepileptic drug polytherapy predicting health-related quality of life of persons 1 year after diagnosis of epilepsy

Abstract

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 QOLIE-31 scores only in men. By contrast, AED polytherapy negatively predicted the QOLIE-31 scores only in women.

Conclusions: There are gender differences in certain epilepsy-related factors predicting HRQoL at 1 year in persons with NDE.

Keywords: Antiepileptic drug polytherapy; Anxiety; Epilepsy; Health-related quality of life; Newly diagnosed epilepsy; Seizure recurrence.