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

•Anxiety predicts quality of life in persons with newly diagnosed epilepsy (NDE).•Seizure recurrence after diagnosis predicts QOLIE-31 scores only in men with NDE.•Antiepileptic drug polytherapy predicts QOLIE-31 scores only in women with NDE.•There were no gender differences in the QOLIE-31 and its subscales after controlling for anxiety.