Gender specific association of decreased bone mineral density in patients with epilepsy

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether epilepsy or certain antiepileptic drugs render patients prone to develop low bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis risk.MethodsThirty-eight (27 males, 11 females) consecutive adult epileptic patients receiving antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and 71 control individuals matched for race, gender, age and body mass index (BMI) were subjected to dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).ResultsThe mean lumbar spine and total hip BMD values were lower in the patients compared to control group (0.90 ± 0.24 g/cm2 vs 1.04 ± 0.14 g/cm2, p < 0.001 and 0.92 ± 0.14 g/cm2 vs 0.99 ± 0.13 g/cm2, p = 0.02, respectively). At the same skeletal sites, male patients had significantly reduced BMD compared to control males (0.90 ± 0.21 g/cm2 vs 1.03 ± 0.15 g/cm2, p = 0.004 and 0.93 ± 0.14 g/cm2 vs 1.02 ± 0.13 g/cm2, p = 0.009, respectively) while there was a trend but no significant differences in females. This BMD reduction was independent of AED type.ConclusionAdult epileptic, predominantly male patients have lower BMD and could be screened with densitometry for early diagnosis and prevention of osteoporosis.