Health & Medicine
Antidepressant Medication Taken During Pregnancy Not Linked to Autism Risk in Kids
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Nov 23, 2013 02:34 AM EST
A latest study confirms that the use of antidepressant medication during pregnancy does not elevate the risk of autism in kids.
The study published in the journal Clinical Epidemiology, knocks down previous findings suggesting that the risk of having an autistic baby goes up five times in pregnant women on antidepressant medication. In the current study, researchers state that there is no link between the use of antidepressants called the SSRIs (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors) during pregnancy and the risk of having a baby with autism.
"More and more women are given antidepressant medication while they are pregnant. And an increasing number of children are diagnosed with autism. This has given rise to concern over a possible connection. In contrast to other, smaller studies, our survey cannot demonstrate that the risk of having a child with autism is increased by taking antidepressant medication during pregnancy," says PhD Jakob Christensen, researcher at Aarhus University and staff specialist at Aarhus University Hospital.
The researchers based their finding on a large register study that involved more than 600,000 Danish kids who were born between 1996-2006. This is the largest survey conducted to trace the link between antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism. In this, 80 percent of the women received antidepressant medication and most of them got it from general practitioners.
On examining the data, the initial results indicated that there was a 2 percent risk of having a baby with autism when pregnant women used antidepressant medication and the risk was 1.5 percent for moms who did not take these antidepressants. But this risk factor was minimal when researchers analyzed parent's and children's psychiatric history.
"We know from previous studies that there is an increased risk for autism, among other things, if the parents have a mental diagnosis such as depression. But we cannot demonstrate that the risk is further increased if the mother has received prescription antidepressant medication during the pregnancy," says Jakob Christensen, adding:
"By analysing data for siblings we can see that the risk of having a child with autism is largely the same regardless of whether the mother takes antidepressant medication or not during the pregnancy."
From this study it is certain that antidepressants are not the main culprits for children suffering with autism.
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First Posted: Nov 23, 2013 02:34 AM EST
A latest study confirms that the use of antidepressant medication during pregnancy does not elevate the risk of autism in kids.
The study published in the journal Clinical Epidemiology, knocks down previous findings suggesting that the risk of having an autistic baby goes up five times in pregnant women on antidepressant medication. In the current study, researchers state that there is no link between the use of antidepressants called the SSRIs (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors) during pregnancy and the risk of having a baby with autism.
"More and more women are given antidepressant medication while they are pregnant. And an increasing number of children are diagnosed with autism. This has given rise to concern over a possible connection. In contrast to other, smaller studies, our survey cannot demonstrate that the risk of having a child with autism is increased by taking antidepressant medication during pregnancy," says PhD Jakob Christensen, researcher at Aarhus University and staff specialist at Aarhus University Hospital.
The researchers based their finding on a large register study that involved more than 600,000 Danish kids who were born between 1996-2006. This is the largest survey conducted to trace the link between antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism. In this, 80 percent of the women received antidepressant medication and most of them got it from general practitioners.
On examining the data, the initial results indicated that there was a 2 percent risk of having a baby with autism when pregnant women used antidepressant medication and the risk was 1.5 percent for moms who did not take these antidepressants. But this risk factor was minimal when researchers analyzed parent's and children's psychiatric history.
"We know from previous studies that there is an increased risk for autism, among other things, if the parents have a mental diagnosis such as depression. But we cannot demonstrate that the risk is further increased if the mother has received prescription antidepressant medication during the pregnancy," says Jakob Christensen, adding:
"By analysing data for siblings we can see that the risk of having a child with autism is largely the same regardless of whether the mother takes antidepressant medication or not during the pregnancy."
From this study it is certain that antidepressants are not the main culprits for children suffering with autism.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone