Sex-Specific Health Challenges: A Study of Women with Epilepsy Across the Lifespan

In Canada, it is estimated that 300,000 people are living with epilepsy, half of whom are women (Patel & Grindrod, 2020). A diagnosis of epilepsy brings inherent psychosocial challenges including increased risks of developing mood disorders, interpersonal and institutional stigma, reduced employment rates, increased mortality rates, low socioeconomic status, and reduced quality of life (Thomas & Nair, 2011; Josephson & Jetté, 2017; Josephson et al., 2017). In addition to the inherent challenges of living with epilepsy, women with epilepsy (WWE) face difficulties with fertility and family planning, contraception, teratogenicity, sexual function, management of care during and after pregnancy, safety while caring for children, hormonal influences on seizure frequency, and additional bone health issues (Aylward, 2008; Crawford et al., 1999; Herzog et al., 2016; Noe, 2007; Pack et al., 2009). The purpose of this study was to explore the implementation of the recommended care for WWE for sex-specific health issues from the perspective of the WWE. Using a cross-sectional survey, we investigated the experience of WWE regarding menstruation, family planning, prenatal and perinatal care, hormonal influences and therapies, and bone health. From the perspective of knowledge translation, this study is one measure of the recommended care reaching the patient.