BANGKOK, THAILAND — Long-term antiepileptic drug therapy is associated with worsening 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 the women were premenopausal, with a mean age of 33 years. Patients had been receiving antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for at least 3 years. Most (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 controls, 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.
With 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 the difference was not statistically significant.