Antidepressant Use During pregnancy Raises Autism Risk by 87 percent
Antidepressants can have several health effects especially when used during pregnancy. According to the latest study from the University of Montreal, mums who used antidepressants while they are pregnant are at increased risk of having children who will develop autism.
While the causes of autism remain unclear, studies show that genetics and environment can play a role. In the current study, researchers examined data from the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort and studied 145,456 children between the time of their conception up to age ten. They looked at a wealth of factors to determine the specific impact of the antidepressant drugs, along with the mother’s use of antidepressants.
"The variety of causes of autism remain unclear, but studies have shown that both genetics and environment can play a role," she explained. "Our study has established that taking antidepressants during the second or third trimester of pregnancy almost doubles the risk that the child will be diagnosed with autism by age 7, especially if the mother takes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, often known by its acronym SSRIs." "Our study has established that taking antidepressants during the second or third trimester of pregnancy almost doubles the risk that the child will be diagnosed with autism by age 7, especially if the mother takes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, often known by its acronym SSRIs." said Professor Anick Bérard of the University of Montreal.
"Amongst all the children in the study, we then identified which children had been diagnosed with a form of autism by looking at hospital records indicating diagnosed childhood autism, atypical autism, Asperger’s syndrome, or a pervasive developmental disorder. Finally, we looked for a statistical association between the two groups, and found a very significant one: an 87% increased risk." The results remained unchanged when only considering children who had been diagnosed by specialists such as psychiatrists and neurologists.
According to the researchers, the findings are hugely important as six to ten percent of pregnant women are currently being treated for depression with antidepressants. The World Health Organization indicates that depression will be the second leading cause of death by 2020, which leads the researchers to believe that antidepressants will likely to remain widely prescribed, including during pregnancy. In the study, 1,054 children were diagnosed with autism (0.72% of the children in the study), on average at 4.5 years of age.
It is biologically plausible that anti-depressants are causing autism if used at the time of brain development in the womb, as serotonin is involved in numerous pre- and postnatal developmental processes, including cell division, the migration of neuros, cell differentiation and synaptogenesis - the creation of links between brain cells," Prof Bérard explained.
He added that some classes of anti-depressants 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.
Their findings were published today in JAMA Paediatrics.
Source of this article
Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children
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