A common inflammatory drug given to pregnant women worldwide has been linked to an increased risk of babies developing autism and other intellectual disabilities.
That is according to a Danish study, which looked at the development of over one million infants born between 1996 and 2016. Specifically, they studied infants whose mothers were given glucocorticoids during pregnancy.
Glucocorticoids are powerful anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive medications used to treat various medical conditions in pregnant women. They are commonly prescribed for managing asthma, autoimmune disorders, and preventing complications in high-risk pregnancies. It is also prescribed to promote fetal lung maturation in women at risk of preterm delivery.
What Were the Study's Findings?
Researchers found that the babies of women who took glucocorticoids during pregnancy were between 30% and 50% more likely to be diagnosed with autism compared to children whose mothers did not take the anti-inflammatory drugs.
The researchers also found a link between glucocorticoids and a higher risk of intellectual disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mood, anxiety, and stress-related disorders.
Read Also: Consuming Caffeine Products During Pregnancy Will Not Cause ADHD in Children, a New Study Finds
Specifically, children whose mothers took the medication to reduce the risk of preterm delivery were 50% more likely to be diagnosed with autism, 50% more likely to have stress-related disorders, and 30% more likely to have ADHD or intellectual disabilities.
Children whose mothers had autoimmune or inflammatory disorders were at 40% risk of anxiety and intellectual disabilities and 30% more likely to develop autism and ADHD.
The study findings were published on the JAMA Network.
What Other Studies Show
There have been numerous studies on the relationship between glucocorticoids and autism. Animal studies show that prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids can lead to altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and anxiety-like behaviors. It was also found that children exposed to multiple courses of antenatal glucocorticoids had higher risks of externalizing behavioral disorders and attention problems at ages three to six.
That said, a 2014 retrospective study found that steroid treatment in children with regressive autism was associated with improvements in behavior, language, and neuropsychological measures.
A separate study, with the findings published in November 2024, also found that prednisolone treatment improved language functions and behavioral performances in children with regressive autism.
