A study of medical records data from three health care systems in Massachusetts finds that prenatal exposure to antidepressants does not increase the risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. The incidence of both ADHD and autism was increased in case that mothers had taken antidepressants prior to becoming pregnant, however, exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy was found relatively safe, conclude researchers.
The report has been published online in Translational Psychiatry. The research team finds evidence that the increased incidence of ADHD or autism that has been found in previous studies was associated perhaps with the severity of the mother's depression and not from antidepressant exposure during pregnancy. Mother's depression is a known risk factor for various neuropsychiatric disorders.
According to Science Daily, the senior author of the study, MD, MSc, MGH Department of Psychiatry Roy Perlis, declared that the conclusion of the current research is very reassuring. The fact that no increase in the risk for ADHD or autism can be associated with antidepressant use differs from the conclusion of some previous studies that have suggested a certain association. However, he pointed, antidepressant use did not account for key differences between mothers who don't take antidepressants and those who take them. The mothers "taking antidepressants are more likely to have more severe illness", MD Perlis said.
The current study has analyzed EHR data from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, and an additional group of children from the Partners EHR. Data on more than 1,200 children suffering from autism was studied by researchers, being compared with data coming from more than 3,500 control children with no neuropsychiatric diagnosis. Information regarding the children was paired with data from their mothers' EHRs, as in the previous studies. Particular attention was paid to factors related to the mother's mental health.
