Tag: Anti-Depressants

The BMJ Research looks at prenatal antidepressant use and risk of ADHD in children

Prenatal antidepressant use and risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring: population based cohort study

Previous reports might have overestimated the association between gestational use of antidepressants and ADHD in offspring because they have failed to control for shared family factors. Although we cannot completely discount the possibility that gestational use of antidepressants is a causal factor, our findings raise the possibility that confounding by indication might at least partially explain the observed association. We propose that if a causal association exists, then the size of the effect is probably smaller than that previously reported. However, decision making about antidepressant use in pregnancy remains important and requires an assessment of the risks and benefits in the context of the individual woman and family.

What is already known on this topic

  • Whether to prescribe drugs for depression during pregnancy is a complex decision
  • Prenatal use of antidepressants is considered a risk factor for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, but evidence is inconclusive
  • The negative consequences of untreated maternal depression might also affect childhood development

What this study adds

  • The risk of ADHD was similar between the offspring of mothers who used antidepressants during pregnancy and those who used before pregnancy only, whereas the risk was higher for offspring of mothers with psychiatric disorders irrespective of whether antidepressants were used
  • Evidence suggests that the association between prenatal antidepressant use and risk of ADHD may at least partially be explained by confounding by indication of antidepressants
  • If there was a causal association; then the size of the effect is probably smaller than what has been reported previously

2017 Study Abstract

Objective
To assess the potential association between prenatal use of antidepressants and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring.

Design
Population based cohort study.

Setting
Data from the Hong Kong population based electronic medical records on the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System.

Participants
190 618 children born in Hong Kong public hospitals between January 2001 and December 2009 and followed-up to December 2015.

Main outcome measure
Hazard ratio of maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy and ADHD in children aged 6 to 14 years, with an average follow-up time of 9.3 years (range 7.4-11.0 years).

Results
Among 190 618 children, 1252 had a mother who used prenatal antidepressants. 5659 children (3.0%) were given a diagnosis of ADHD or received treatment for ADHD. The crude hazard ratio of maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy was 2.26 (P<0.01) compared with non-use. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, including maternal psychiatric disorders and use of other psychiatric drugs, the adjusted hazard ratio was reduced to 1.39 (95% confidence interval 1.07 to 1.82, P=0.01). Likewise, similar results were observed when comparing children of mothers who had used antidepressants before pregnancy with those who were never users (1.76, 1.36 to 2.30, P<0.01). The risk of ADHD in the children of mothers with psychiatric disorders was higher compared with the children of mothers without psychiatric disorders even if the mothers had never used antidepressants (1.84, 1.54 to 2.18, P<0.01). All sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. Sibling matched analysis identified no significant difference in risk of ADHD in siblings exposed to antidepressants during gestation and those not exposed during gestation (0.54, 0.17 to 1.74, P=0.30).

Conclusions
The findings suggest that the association between prenatal use of antidepressants and risk of ADHD in offspring can be partially explained by confounding by indication of antidepressants. If there is a causal association, the size of the effect is probably smaller than that reported previously.

Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy and Preterm Birth, ASD, ADHD in Offspring

Is first-trimester maternal antidepressant use related to offspring birth problems, neurodevelopmental problems, or both?

1. Association Between Maternal Use of SSRI Medications and Autism in Their Children

In the February 2016 issue of JAMA Pediatrics, Boukhris and colleagues reported that in utero exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) was associated with a significantly increased risk for autism. The authors examined all pregnancies from 1998 to 2009 in the Québec Pregnancy/Children Cohort database that resulted in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as the primary outcome. Among 145 456 full-term infants included in the analysis, 1054 children were diagnosed with ASD by the mean age of 6.2 years (SD, 3.2 years) at follow-up, including 1008 cases of ASD among 140 732 children (0.72%) who were not exposed to antidepressants, and 31 cases of ASD among the 2532 (1.2%) children who were exposed to SSRIs during the second or third trimester. Based on these results, the authors concluded that second- or third-trimester exposure to SSRIs was associated with increased risk for ASD (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.15-3.04).

2017 Study Abstract

Importance
The association between the use of antidepressants during gestation and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children is still controversial. The etiology of ASD remains unclear, although studies have implicated genetic predispositions, environmental risk factors, and maternal depression.

Objective
To examine the risk of ASD in children associated with antidepressant use during pregnancy according to trimester of exposure and taking into account maternal depression.

Design, Setting, and Participants
We conducted a register-based study of an ongoing population-based cohort, the Québec Pregnancy/Children Cohort, which includes data on all pregnancies and children in Québec from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2009. A total of 145 456 singleton full-term infants born alive and whose mothers were covered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec drug plan for at least 12 months before and during pregnancy were included. Data analysis was conducted from October 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015.

Exposures
Antidepressant exposure during pregnancy was defined according to trimester and specific antidepressant classes.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Children with ASD were defined as those with at least 1 diagnosis of ASD between date of birth and last date of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate crude and adjusted hazard ratios with 95% CIs.

Results
During 904 035.50 person-years of follow-up, 1054 children (0.7%) were diagnosed with ASD; boys with ASD outnumbered girls by a ratio of about 4:1. The mean (SD) age of children at the end of follow-up was 6.24 (3.19) years. Adjusting for potential confounders, use of antidepressants during the second and/or third trimester was associated with the risk of ASD (31 exposed infants; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.15-3.04). Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during the second and/or third trimester was significantly associated with an increased risk of ASD (22 exposed infants; adjusted hazard ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.20-3.93). The risk was persistent even after taking into account maternal history of depression (29 exposed infants; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.03-2.97).

Conclusions and Relevance
Use of antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, during the second and/or third trimester increases the risk of ASD in children, even after considering maternal depression. Further research is needed to specifically assess the risk of ASD associated with antidepressant types and dosages during pregnancy.

2. Associations of Maternal Antidepressant Use During the First Trimester of Pregnancy With Preterm Birth, Small for Gestational Age, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Offspring

Key Points

Findings
In this retrospect cohort study of 1 580 629 Swedish offspring using multiple statistical and methodical approaches to adjust for confounding, first-trimester antidepressant exposure was significantly associated with preterm birth (odds ratio, 1.3 in a sibling comparison analysis) but not with risk of being born small for gestational age or later autism spectrum disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Meaning
After accounting for confounding factors, first-trimester antidepressant exposure, compared with no exposure, was associated with a small increased risk of preterm birth but no increased risk of small for gestational age, autism spectrum disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

2017 Abstract

Importance
Prenatal antidepressant exposure has been associated with adverse outcomes. Previous studies, however, may not have adequately accounted for confounding.

Objective
To evaluate alternative hypotheses for associations between first-trimester antidepressant exposure and birth and neurodevelopmental problems.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This retrospective cohort study included Swedish offspring born between 1996 and 2012 and followed up through 2013 or censored by death or emigration. Analyses controlling for pregnancy, maternal and paternal covariates, as well as sibling comparisons, timing of exposure comparisons, and paternal comparisons, were used to examine the associations.

Exposures
Maternal self-reported first-trimester antidepressant use and first-trimester antidepressant dispensations.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Preterm birth (< 37 gestational weeks), small for gestational age (birth weight < 2 SDs below the mean for gestational age), and first inpatient or outpatient clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring.

Results
Among 1 580 629 offspring (mean gestational age, 279 days; 48.6% female; 1.4% [n = 22 544] with maternal first-trimester self-reported antidepressant use) born to 943 776 mothers (mean age at childbirth, 30 years), 6.98% of exposed vs 4.78% of unexposed offspring were preterm, 2.54% of exposed vs 2.19% of unexposed were small for gestational age, 5.28% of exposed vs 2.14% of unexposed were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by age 15 years, and 12.63% of exposed vs 5.46% of unexposed were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder by age 15 years. At the population level, first-trimester exposure was associated with all outcomes compared with unexposed offspring (preterm birth odds ratio [OR], 1.47 [95% CI, 1.40-1.55]; small for gestational age OR, 1.15 [95% CI, 1.06-1.25]; autism spectrum disorder hazard ratio [HR], 2.02 [95% CI, 1.80-2.26]; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder HR, 2.21 [95% CI, 2.04-2.39]). However, in models that compared siblings while adjusting for pregnancy, maternal, and paternal traits, first-trimester antidepressant exposure was associated with preterm birth (OR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.18-1.52]) but not with small for gestational age (OR, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.81-1.25]), autism spectrum disorder (HR, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.62-1.13]), or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (HR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.79-1.25]). Results from analyses assessing associations with maternal dispensations before pregnancy and with paternal first-trimester dispensations were consistent with findings from the sibling comparisons.

Conclusions and Relevance
Among offspring born in Sweden, after accounting for confounding factors, first-trimester exposure to antidepressants, compared with no exposure, was associated with a small increased risk of preterm birth but no increased risk of small for gestational age, autism spectrum disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Image credit Jamie Campbell.

Brain Changes found in Newborns exposed to Antidepressants

Antidepressive treatment during pregnancy can affect newborn brain activity

A first of its kind neuroscience study, published this month in Cerebral Cortex, found changes in the brain electrical activity of infants exposed to SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy. The changes are associated with less-organized communication between the brain’s hemispheres and are comparable to the effects found in previous animal studies.

New Study Finds Brain Changes in Newborns Exposed to Antidepressants, madinamerica, June 17, 2016.

The researchers call for more critical evaluations of the prescription of antidepressants during pregnancy and suggest that non-pharmacologic and therapeutic alternatives should be the preferred treatment.

Abstract

Newborn Brain Function Is Affected by Fetal Exposure to Maternal Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, cercor.oxfordjournals, doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhw153, June 6, 2016.

Recent experimental animal studies have shown that fetal exposure to serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) affects brain development. Modern recording methods and advanced computational analyses of scalp electroencephalography (EEG) have opened a possibility to study if comparable changes are also observed in the human neonatal brain. We recruited mothers using SRI during pregnancy (n = 22) and controls (n = 62). Mood and anxiety of mothers, newborn neurology, and newborn cortical function (EEG) were assessed. The EEG parameters were compared between newborns exposed to drugs versus controls, followed by comparisons of newborn EEG features with maternal psychiatric assessments. Neurological assessment showed subtle abnormalities in the SRI-exposed newborns. The computational EEG analyses disclosed a reduced interhemispheric connectivity, lower cross-frequency integration, as well as reduced frontal activity at low-frequency oscillations. These effects were not related to maternal depression or anxiety. Our results suggest that antenatal serotonergic treatment might change newborn brain function in a manner compatible with the recent experimental studies.

Antidepressive treatment during pregnancy can affect newborn brain activity, University of Helsinki, 15.6.2016. Photo Sampsa Vanhatalo.

The present EEG findings suggest links at the level of neuronal activity between human studies and animal experiments. These links will also enable bidirectional translation in future studies on the neuronal mechanisms and long-term neurodevelopmental effects of early SRI exposure.

Bullied children, anxiety, anti-depressants and the risk of medicalising childhood

Child mental health crisis ‘worse than suspected’

” We need to ask ourselves what is causing mental health problems in the first place. Because it’s my belief that many of these struggles could be avoided if we get our approach right. And if we don’t we’re giving away with one hand and taking away with the other. And we run the risk of medicalising childhood.

If a child is being bullied and they have the symptoms of depression because they are being bullied, what they need is for the bullying to stop. They need to feel safe again. They don’t necessarily need anti-depressants or therapy.

The question we should be asking ourselves is what are the emotional and mental health needs of all children and are they being met in our schools?

At one end of the scale we’ve got four-year-olds being tested, at the other end of the scale we’ve got teenagers leaving school and facing the prospect of leaving university with record amounts of debt. Anxiety is the fastest growing illness in under 21s. These things are not a coincidence.”

Natasha Devon, child mental health specialist appointed by the Government. Schoolyard bully image by Thomas Ricker.

Press releases
  • Bullied children are being wrongly ‘medicalised’, expert warns, telegraph, 28 APRIL 2016.
  • Child mental health crisis ‘worse than suspected’, the guardian, 29 April 2016.
  • Children are being wrongly prescribed anti-depressants when they just need rescuing from bullies warns schools’ mental health tsar, daily mail, 29 April 2016.
  • Stop giving bullied children anti-depressants, warns Government adviser, independent, 29 April 2016

Kids Say No to Drugs

Why let pharma drug your children?

ritalin-adhd-cartoon
At present we are stoking the desire for mind-altering effects with medically authorised substances, some of which may be just as harmful or worse than their illicit counterparts.

So today we have the bizarre situation in which use of mind-altering substances is simultaneously prohibited and promoted. Taking heroin to numb the pain of life is demonised, but taking an ‘antidepressant’ or ‘mood stabiliser’ to combat your depressive tendencies or manage your mood swings is encouraged, and not just by the pharmaceutical industry, but by professional and governmental anti-stigma campaigns.

Health cartoons

Anxiety Drug Overdoses hit Record Levels in the U.S.

More Americans than ever are overdosing on anxiety drugs

xanax
Overdoses from benzodiazepines – anxiety drugs – have increased at a much faster rate than prescriptions for the drugs, indicating that people have been taking them in a riskier way over time.

ABSTRACT

Increasing Benzodiazepine Prescriptions and Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1996–2013, American Journal of Public Health, February 18, 2016.

Objectives
To describe trends in benzodiazepine prescriptions and overdose mortality involving benzodiazepines among US adults.

Methods
We examined data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and multiple-cause-of-death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Results
Between 1996 and 2013, the percentage of adults filling a benzodiazepine prescription increased from 4.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.8%, 4.5%) to 5.6% (95% CI = 5.2%, 6.1%), with an annual percent change of 2.5% (95% CI = 2.1%, 3.0%). The quantity of benzodiazepines filled increased from 1.1 (95% CI = 0.9, 1.2) to 3.6 (95% CI = 3.0, 4.2) kilogram lorazepam equivalents per 100 000 adults (annual percent change = 9.0%; 95% CI = 7.6%, 10.3%). The overdose death rate increased from 0.58 (95% CI = 0.55, 0.62) to 3.07 (95% CI = 2.99, 3.14) per 100 000 adults, with a plateau seen after 2010.

Benzodiazepine-Related Overdose Deaths Soar, Forbes, FEB 18, 2016.

Conclusions
Benzodiazepine prescriptions and overdose mortality have increased considerably. Fatal overdoses involving benzodiazepines have plateaued overall; however, no evidence of decreases was found in any group. Interventions to reduce the use of benzodiazepines or improve their safety are needed.

Suicidality and aggression during SSRI antidepressant treatment

Systematic review and meta-analyses based on clinical study reports

Babel image
Clinical study reports for duloxetine, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, and venlafaxine obtained from the European and UK drug regulators, and summary trial reports for duloxetine and fluoxetine from Eli Lilly’s website. Antidepressant use doubles the risk of suicide in under 18s and the risks to adults may have been seriously underestimated, researchers found. Babel.

Abstract

Suicidality and aggression during antidepressant treatment: systematic review and meta-analyses based on clinical study reports, BMJ 2016;352:i65, 27 January 2016.

Objective
To study serious harms associated with selective serotonin and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.

Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Main outcome measures
Mortality and suicidality. Secondary outcomes were aggressive behaviour and akathisia.

Data sources
Clinical study reports for duloxetine, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, and venlafaxine obtained from the European and UK drug regulators, and summary trial reports for duloxetine and fluoxetine from Eli Lilly’s website.

Eligibility criteria for study selection
Double blind placebo controlled trials that contained any patient narratives or individual patient listings of harms.

Data extraction and analysis
Two researchers extracted data independently; the outcomes were meta-analysed by Peto’s exact method (fixed effect model).

Results
We included 70 trials (64 381 pages of clinical study reports) with 18 526 patients. These trials had limitations in the study design and discrepancies in reporting, which may have led to serious under-reporting of harms. For example, some outcomes appeared only in individual patient listings in appendices, which we had for only 32 trials, and we did not have case report forms for any of the trials. Differences in mortality (all deaths were in adults, odds ratio 1.28, 95% confidence interval 0.40 to 4.06), suicidality (1.21, 0.84 to 1.74), and akathisia (2.04, 0.93 to 4.48) were not significant, whereas patients taking antidepressants displayed more aggressive behaviour (1.93, 1.26 to 2.95). For adults, the odds ratios were 0.81 (0.51 to 1.28) for suicidality, 1.09 (0.55 to 2.14) for aggression, and 2.00 (0.79 to 5.04) for akathisia. The corresponding values for children and adolescents were 2.39 (1.31 to 4.33), 2.79 (1.62 to 4.81), and 2.15 (0.48 to 9.65). In the summary trial reports on Eli Lilly’s website, almost all deaths were noted, but all suicidal ideation events were missing, and the information on the remaining outcomes was incomplete.

Antidepressants can raise the risk of suicide, biggest ever review finds, telegraph, 27 January 2016.

Conclusions
Because of the shortcomings identified and having only partial access to appendices with no access to case report forms, the harms could not be estimated accurately. In adults there was no significant increase in all four outcomes, but in children and adolescents the risk of suicidality and aggression doubled. To elucidate the harms reliably, access to anonymised individual patient data is needed.

Reanalysis of Study 329: efficacy and harms of paroxetine and imipramine in adolescents

How difficult it is to get the truth about questionable drugs

The reanalysis of Study 329 illustrates the necessity of making primary trial data and protocols available to increase the rigour of the evidence base.

Access to primary data from trials has important implications for both clinical practice and research, including that published conclusions about efficacy and safety should not be read as authoritative.

Jon Jueridini and colleagues have reanalysed SmithKline Beecham’ infamous Study 329 (published by Keller and colleagues in 2001), the primary objective of which was to compare the efficacy and safety of paroxetine and imipramine with placebo in the treatment of adolescents with unipolar major depression.

The reanalysis under the restoring invisible and abandoned trials (RIAT) initiative was done to see whether access to and reanalysis of a full dataset from a randomised controlled trial would have clinically relevant implications for evidence based medicine.

Their analysis finds that neither paroxetine nor high dose imipramine showed efficacy for major depression in adolescents, and there was an increase in harms with both drugs.

More on Study 329 from The BMJ
  • Study 329, doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h4973, 17 September 2015.
  • Restoring Study 329: efficacy and harms of paroxetine and imipramine in treatment of major depression in adolescence, doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h4320, 16 September 2015.
  • No correction, no retraction, no apology, no comment: paroxetine trial reanalysis raises questions about institutional responsibility, doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h4629, 16 September 2015.
  • Restoring Study 329: efficacy and harms of paroxetine and imipramine in treatment of major depression in adolescence, doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h4320, 16 September 2015.
  • Restoring invisible and abandoned trials: a call for people to publish the findings, doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f2865, June 28, 2013.
More on Study 329 from Dr David Healy’s blog
More on Study 329
  • Initial – 1st – Study 329, jaacap, July 2001.
  • Restoring Study 329, website.
  • About : Documenting Seroxat : An Epic Medical Scandal, truthman30/.

Antidepressant use in pregnancy linked to increased risk of congenital and cardiac malformations

This systematic review found that the overall risk of major birth defects remains low

image of antidepressant-and-woman
The question of whether paroxetine can cause birth defects has been under discussion since 2005 The strengths of this study are that it was a systematic review, so should have included any relevant research, and that the researchers analysed the data in different ways to look for potential biases or factors that could have skewed the results. i finally started taking my anti-depressant again.

Abstract

The risk of major cardiac malformations associated with paroxetine use during the first trimester of pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis, British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, DOI: 10.1111/bcp.12849, Jan 2016.

Aims
The aim of this study was to perform an up-to-date meta-analysis on the risk of cardiac malformations associated with gestational exposure to paroxetine, taking into account indication, study design, and reference category.

Method
A systematic review of studies published between 1966 and November 2015 was conducted using EMBASE and MEDLINE. Studies reporting major malformations with first trimester exposure to paroxetine were included. Potentially relevant articles were assessed and relevant data extracted to calculate risk estimates. Outcomes included any major malformations, and major cardiac malformations. Pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random-effects models.

Results
Twenty-three studies were included. Compared to non-exposure to paroxetine, first trimester use of paroxetine was associated with an increased risk of any major congenital malformations combined (pooled OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10, 1.38; n=15 studies); major cardiac malformations (pooled OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.11, 1.47; n=18 studies), specifically bulbus cordis anomalies and anomalies of cardiac septal closure (pooled OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.07, 1.89; n=8 studies), atrial septal defects (pooled OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.14, 4.97; n=4 studies), and right ventricular outflow track defect (pooled OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.06, 4.93; n=4 studies). Although the estimates varied depending on the comparator group, study design and malformation detection period, a trend towards increased risk was observed.

Conclusions
Paroxetine use during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of any major congenital malformations and cardiac malformations. The increase in risk is not dependent on the study method or population.

Antidepressant use during Pregnancy and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children

Taking antidepressants during pregnancy increases risk of autism by 87 percent

Taking antidepressants during pregnancy increases risk of autism by 87 percent. Some classes of antidepressants work by inhibiting serotonin (SSRIs and some other antidepressant classes), which will have a negative impact on the ability of the brain to fully develop and adapt in utero, Scott Roberts.

2015 Study Abstract

Importance
The association between the use of antidepressants during gestation and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children is still controversial. The etiology of ASD remains unclear, although studies have implicated genetic predispositions, environmental risk factors, and maternal depression.

Objective
To examine the risk of ASD in children associated with antidepressant use during pregnancy according to trimester of exposure and taking into account maternal depression.

Design, Setting, and Participants
We conducted a register-based study of an ongoing population-based cohort, the Québec Pregnancy/Children Cohort, which includes data on all pregnancies and children in Québec from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2009. A total of 145 456 singleton full-term infants born alive and whose mothers were covered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec drug plan for at least 12 months before and during pregnancy were included. Data analysis was conducted from October 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015.

Exposures
Antidepressant exposure during pregnancy was defined according to trimester and specific antidepressant classes.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Children with ASD were defined as those with at least 1 diagnosis of ASD between date of birth and last date of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate crude and adjusted hazard ratios with 95% CIs.

Results
During 904 035.50 person-years of follow-up, 1054 children (0.7%) were diagnosed with ASD; boys with ASD outnumbered girls by a ratio of about 4:1. The mean (SD) age of children at the end of follow-up was 6.24 (3.19) years. Adjusting for potential confounders, use of antidepressants during the second and/or third trimester was associated with the risk of ASD (31 exposed infants; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.15-3.04). Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during the second and/or third trimester was significantly associated with an increased risk of ASD (22 exposed infants; adjusted hazard ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.20-3.93). The risk was persistent even after taking into account maternal history of depression (29 exposed infants; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.03-2.97).

Conclusions and Relevance
Use of antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, during the second and/or third trimester increases the risk of ASD in children, even after considering maternal depression. Further research is needed to specifically assess the risk of ASD associated with antidepressant types and dosages during pregnancy.

Sources and more information
  • Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children, JAMA Pediatrics, doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.3356, December 14, 2015.
  • Taking antidepressants during pregnancy increases risk of autism by 87 percent, medicalxpress, December 14, 2015.
  • Antidepressants during pregnancy linked to autism, medicalnewstoday, 14 December 2015.