---
title: Do women with epilepsy have more PMDD, and does the medication matter?
description: Overall, PMDD rates are similar in women with and without epilepsy. But women with certain types of epilepsy, especially temporal lobe epilepsy, have more PMD
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-eveluation-of-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-ratio-and-the-relationship-2013/
---

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- Do women with epilepsy have more PMDD, and does the medication matter?

Survey study, 2013

# Do women with epilepsy have more PMDD, and does the medication matter?

Overall, PMDD rates are similar in women with and without epilepsy. But women with certain types of epilepsy, especially temporal lobe epilepsy, have more PMDD, and lamotrigine may reduce the risk.

 Early or limited evidence

93 women with epilepsy and 30 control women in Turkey

## What they did

Cross-sectional study of 93 women with epilepsy and 30 women without epilepsy in Turkey. Researchers compared PMDD rates between groups and examined whether different seizure medications (carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, valproic acid, lamotrigine, levetiracetam) affected PMDD frequency.

## What they found

Overall, PMDD rates were similar between women with epilepsy and control women. However, women with focal epilepsy, especially temporal lobe epilepsy, had higher rates of PMDD. Among seizure medications, women taking lamotrigine had the lowest rate of PMDD.

## What it means for you

If you have focal or temporal lobe epilepsy, you are more likely to have PMDD. The type of medication you take for epilepsy might affect your PMDD risk, with lamotrigine possibly being protective. The study was small and observational, so we cannot prove lamotrigine actually prevents PMDD. Larger studies are needed to test this.

93

Women with epilepsy

30

Control women

5

Different medications compared

## About the study

Original title The eveluation of premenstrual dysphoric disorder ratio and the relationship with antiepileptic drugs in epilepsy patients Authors Özden Kamışlı, Suat Kamışlı, Şükrü Kartalcı et al. Journal Journal of the Turkish Epilepsi Society Year 2013 Study design Survey study Participants 93 What was tested Comparison of different seizure medications Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.5505/epilepsi.2013.50251](https://doi.org/10.5505/epilepsi.2013.50251)

## Topics

[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiolytics and other psychotropics](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-anxiolytics/)[Epilepsy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-epilepsy/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)

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## Related studies

Cohort study, 2011

Does having epilepsy increase the risk of PMDD, and what makes it worse?

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How do menstrual cycle hormones affect the brain and cause mood disorders like PMDD?

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Systematic review, 2026

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Do women with severe premenstrual disorders have higher risk of relationship breakup?

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