Infertility in women with epilepsy: what's the risk and why?

摘要

Studies suggest that women with epilepsy (WWE) have reduced fertility rates when compared to the general population. Wallace and colleagues, using the General Practice Research Database in the United Kingdom, reported that fertility rates among women with epilepsy were 33% lower than in women in the general population. Not all studies have demonstrated such findings, however. In their population-based study in Iceland, Olafsson and colleagues found no evidence of reduced fertility in WWE. All previously published studies assessing fertility rates in WWE are retrospective.