Use of Newer Antiseizure Meds for Epilepsy Differs by Race, Ethnicity – Black and Hispanic Patients Had Lower Odds of Taking Second- or Third-Generation Medications

January 13, 2023

Article published by MedPage Today

Racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to be taking newer-generation antiseizure medications (ASMs) for their epilepsy, an analysis of Medicaid data showed.

Compared with white patients, Black (adjusted OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.68-0.75), Hispanic (aOR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.99), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (aOR 0.77, 95% CI 0.67-0.88) patients had lower odds of being on newer ASMs, reported Wyatt Bensken, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and co-authors.

Racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to be taking newer-generation antiseizure medications (ASMs) for their epilepsy, an analysis of Medicaid data showed.

Of note, taking a second-generation ASM was associated with better treatment adherence (aOR 1.17, 95% CI 1.11-1.23), and those seeing a neurologist had higher odds of being on newer ASMs (aOR 3.26, 95% CI 3.13-3.41), the researchers detailed in Neurology Clinical Practice.

“Being on a newer, second-, and third-generation ASM may represent an important marker of quality of care for people with epilepsy,” Bensken and team wrote, citing evidence that newer ASMs are associated with fewer side effects and more effective seizure control.

“From the patterns we observed, there is the potential that a sizeable proportion of people with epilepsy may not be on an optimal ASM regimen, and the differences appear to reflect clear racial and ethnic inequities in epilepsy care,” they added.