A Major New Study Should Assuage Concerns About Using Antidepressants During Pregnancy
A research of almost 3 million pregnancies found that antidepressants do not increase the incidence of autism or ADHD in offspring.
A new study published this week may bring relief to expecting mothers suffering from depression. The study showed no obvious association between using antidepressants during pregnancy and future brain-related problems in children, such as autism or ADHD.
Researchers examined the medical data of almost 3 million pregnant women and their children, including over 145,000 persons who reported antidepressant use from 19 weeks through the end of their pregnancy. The data allowed the researchers to track their children's reported health outcomes up to 14 years later, with the team focused primarily on neurodevelopmental disorders. Autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, speech and learning impairments, and other behavioral disorders were among them.
In an initial comparison, children born to antidepressant-using moms were up to twice as likely to acquire any neurodevelopmental problem as children born to non-drug-using mothers. However, the researchers also attempted to account for other factors that could have explained this increased risk, such as the existence of depression itself. There was no longer any link between antidepressants and later neurodevelopmental issues in children once they did so. When they looked at siblings born to the same mother who took antidepressants during one pregnancy but not the other, they found the same lack of a pattern.
"The findings of this cohort analysis imply that antidepressant use during pregnancy does not raise the risk of neurodevelopmental problems in children," the authors stated in their paper, which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday.
The link between using antidepressants during pregnancy and later issues in children has long been debated. Some studies have found an increased risk of autism and ADHD. However, the authors claim that their large-scale data and study methodology will provide a clearer picture of any potential hazards, and at least some outside experts concur.
"This is an extremely important paper." "Women and health professionals are frequently concerned about antidepressants during pregnancy, and sometimes decide to abruptly discontinue these medications as soon as pregnancy is discovered," said Carmine Pariante, professor of Biological Psychiatry at Kings College London, in a statement compiled by the Science Media Center. "This study demonstrates that prior worries that antidepressant usage raises the likelihood of autism or other neurodevelopmental abnormalities are related to the effects of depression itself, or to risk factors for depression, rather than to antidepressants."
The scientists discovered that the lack of a link was generally similar across several kinds of antidepressants, common specific medicines, and different time periods of using them in this present investigation. However, there is some evidence that not all antidepressants are equally safe to use during pregnancy. Recent CDC research, for example, found an association between taking the drug venlafaxine (brand name Effexor) in early pregnancy and an increased risk of birth defects, as well as a small increased risk of birth defects associated with taking several common selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.
Even the CDC has acknowledged that some of these correlations (especially heart problems) may be due to the diseases for which patients take the medications, rather than the drugs themselves. Even in people who use these medications during pregnancy, the absolute risk of severe birth abnormalities remains quite low. Any potential hazards of these drugs must be balanced against the advantages they can give, because untreated depression or anxiety can be hazardous to babies and increase the likelihood of postpartum depression in mothers.
More research is needed to determine the particular links, if any, between antidepressants and unfavorable health outcomes during pregnancy. However, for the time being, the CDC and many experts advise expecting moms to see their doctors before beginning or discontinuing antidepressants while pregnant.
#Pregnancy #AntiDepressant #MentalHealth
SOURCE: gizmodo
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