Nearly one-third of people with epilepsy in a new U.S. study had overlapping prescriptions for antiseizure drugs and hormonal birth control, which can make those drugs less effective. The study, published in the journal Neurology on Oct. 7, 2026, used records from people with epilepsy enrolled in Medicaid.
Researchers looked at medical records for 21,923 people with epilepsy who were prescribed both a hormonal contraceptive that can be affected by drug interactions and an enzyme-inducing antiseizure medication. Of those, 7,154 people, or 32.6%, had at least one overlap of 14 days or longer, according to the American Academy of Neurology's announcement of the study. On average, the overlaps lasted about seven months.
