SynthesisBiology of sex differences2025
Sex and gender differences in memory in epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Biology of sex differences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sex-related structural alterations across common epilepsies: a worldwide ENIGMA study.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Scientific Symposium: Biological Sex as a Factor in Epilepsy Research and Treatment.Epilepsy currents · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMemory impairments are highly prevalent in patients with epilepsy, yet important gaps remain in the understanding of potential sex and gender differences. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to synthesize the available evidence on sex and gender differences in memory functioning in adults and children with epilepsy, and to explore the relevance of the epilepsy type, the side of seizure focus, the hemispheric dominance for language, the educational level and the age group in these differences.
methodsThe study followed PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251006928). Studies were retrieved from Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus.
resultsThe systematic search yielded 1,261 records, from which 32 studies were selected. Women scored higher than men in immediate verbal memory, both at baseline (g = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.23, 0.44; p < 0.0001) and after epilepsy surgery (g = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.15, 0.44; p < 0.0001). This advantage was also observed in delayed verbal memory, at baseline (g = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.19, 0.41; p < 0.0001) and after surgery (g = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.41; p = 0.0018). In contrast, men outperformed women in immediate visual memory, both before (g = -0.13; 95% CI = -0.22, -0.03; p = 0.01) and after surgery (g = -0.17; 95% CI = -0.33, -0.01; p = 0.04). No significant differences were observed in working memory or delayed visual memory. Effect sizes favoring women in verbal memory were significantly smaller in studies including only patients with temporal lobe epilepsy compared to mixed epilepsy types. The effect size for postsurgical delayed verbal memory was moderated by the side of seizure focus: studies including a greater proportion of patients with left-hemisphere epilepsy showed poorer postsurgical delayed verbal memory. Hemispheric dominance for language, age, and educational level did not moderate sex-gender differences in memory.
conclusionsThese findings underscore the importance of incorporating sex and gender variables in neuropsychological assessment and intervention planning, offering evidence-based recommendations.
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