Sexual behavior of a sample of females with epilepsy

A sample of 700 female epileptic outpatients was examined between 1985 and 1987. The incidence of psychosexual disorders was 18%. Epileptic females with psychosexual disorders were compared with epileptic females without sexual disorders and with normal female controls on selected clinical and EEG parameters. Epileptic females with sexual disorders showed: lower marriage rates, a longer duration of illness, sexually colored prodromata, predominance of partial complex seizures (83%) and a higher incidence of menstrual abnormalities. Hyposexuality and exhibitionism were the psychosexual disorders most frequently noted. Temporal lobe EEG abnormalities were significantly higher.