Valproate, weight gain and carbohydrate craving: a gender study.

PURPOSE: To compare the incidence and magnitude of weight gain associated with valproic acid (VPA) monotherapy in male and female epilepsy patients and to determine possible gender-specific differences in frequency of carbohydrate craving, body-composition, glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism.

METHODS: Epilepsy patients on VPA monotherapy were consecutively recruited at the outpatient clinic of the Department of Neurology, Innsbruck Medical University. Weight gain during VPA-therapy, frequency of carbohydrate craving and physical exercise, sociopsychological problems and family history for diabetes were obtained from all patients. Clinical data also comprised body-impedance analysis, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio. Morning fasting blood samples were drawn to determine serum leptin, glucose and lipid concentrations, as well as insulin, C-reactive protein and TNF-alpha.

RESULTS: One hundred and six patients (55 women) were enrolled in the study. Significant weight gain was seen during VPA-therapy in both genders (each p<0.001) with women experiencing increment of weight more frequently and more pronounced than did men. Analyses of patients who gained weight during VPA-therapy revealed significantly higher serum leptin concentrations in women than in men (p<0.001). Women also revealed significantly higher high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and lower triglyceride concentrations than men (p=0.004 and 0.014, respectively). Frequency of carbohydrate craving was 25.8% in women and 14.3% in men. More women tried to lose or control weight through diet than did men (22.6% versus 7.1%). Moreover, weight gain as a sociopsychological problem was more numorous in women than in men.

CONCLUSION: Women are more prone to gain weight during VPA therapy though higher frequency of diet and sociopsychological burden than men, which might possibly be related to leptin-resitance and a higher frequency of carbohydrate craving.