Gender differences in quality of life among Canadian adults with epilepsy

The clinical literature suggests epilepsy may impact quality of life in males and females differently. Previous research on gender issues has focused primarily on biological-biomedical factors over psychological and social factors. In this study we compare subjective and objective quality of life in adult persons with epilepsy to persons without epilepsy by gender using the biopsychosocial model in the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), a large epidemiological survey that covers 98% of the Canadian population. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using self-rated health status and the Health Utility Index(®) 3 (HUI3) as the outcomes. Quality of life was significantly moderated after controlling for the biological-biomedical variables in all analyses except the HUI3. Males with epilepsy were more likely to have HUI3 scores of 0.70 or greater than males without epilepsy (OR = 1.61, 95%CI 1.32-1.96). For males with epilepsy the HUI3 was further moderated, but remained significantly better in the final model that controlled for biological, psychological and social factors (OR = 1.43, 95%CI 1.17-1.76). Our findings provide support for treatment approaches that focus on the whole person. Such approaches should take into account gender differences when examining objective quality of life.