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Antiepileptic drugs and sexual dysfunction in patients with epilepsy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

S. Kolsi ,
A. Bouaziz ,
A. Haj Ali ,
K. Medhaffar ,
K. Zitoun ,
W. Abbes  and
E. Ellouz
S. Kolsi*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry
A. Bouaziz
Affiliation:
Psychiatry
A. Haj Ali
Affiliation:
Neurology, Hospital University, Gabes, Tunisia
K. Medhaffar
Affiliation:
Psychiatry
K. Zitoun
Affiliation:
Psychiatry
W. Abbes
Affiliation:
Psychiatry
E. Ellouz
Affiliation:
Neurology, Hospital University, Gabes, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Epilepsy is a common disease that is mostly treated with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The sexual dysfunction (SD) side effects related to the use of AEDs have not received sufficient attention.

Objectives

The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of SD and to study the role played by the AEDs among patients with epilepsy.

Methods

A cross-sectional and analytic study was conducted from September to December 2023, among patients with epilepsy follow up in the neurology outpatients of the University Hospital in Gabes (Tunisia), received AEDs, married for at least six months and sexually active. We collected the therapeutics data including type and number of prescribed AEDs and medication adherence, using pre-established form. SD was measured using the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) questionnaire.

Results

Forty-five patients were enrolled (68.9% male and 31.1% female). The average age was 46.76 years (SD=12.39). The majority of patients had a low socio-economic status (64.4%). Carbamazepine and phenobarbital were the most commonly AEDs prescribed (57.8% and 53.3% respectively), especially as monotherapy (62.3%). Poor medication adherence was observed in 13 patients (28.9%). The frequency of SD among patients, based on ASEX questionnaire, was 44.4%. The factors associated with SD included carbamazepine and phenobarbital prescription (p=0.036 and p=0.045 respectively), double or multiple drug therapies (p=0.006) and poor medication adherence (p=0.033).

Conclusions

SD is very common in patients with epilepsy. This seems to be related to AEDs such as using of carbamazepine and phenobarbital, polytherapy and poor medication adherence.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S1142 - S1143
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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