BANGKOK, THAILAND — Long-term antiepileptic drug therapy is associated with poorer bone health in premenopausal women.
Dr. Rungsan Chaisewikul of Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, included 50 women with epilepsy and 51 matched controls in his study, presented during the meeting's poster session. All of the women were premenopausal, with a mean age of 33 years. Patients had been on antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for at least 3 years. Most of the women (62%) were taking more than one drug, and most (84%) were taking an enzyme-inducing AED. All participants had bone mineral density (BMD) measured at the lumbar spine, left femur, and left radius.
Compared with the controls, the patients had significantly lower T scores at the femoral neck (0.30 vs. −0.08). BMD at the lumbar spine was lower, but not significantly lower, in patients than in controls, as was BMD at the radius.
Based on measurements at the femoral neck and lumbar spine, significantly more patients than controls were rated as having osteopenia and osteoporosis. More patients than controls also were rated as osteopenic or osteoporotic when considering the radius measurement, although that difference was not statistically significant.