Health & Medicine
Steroid Injections to Mothers for Preemies Linked to Mental Health Problems
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Nov 23, 2013 02:51 AM EST
A new study claims that steroid injections given to pregnant mothers before premature births heighten the risk of mental health problems in the children later in life.
The study conducted by researchers at the Imperial College London in collaboration with researchers from the University of Oulu, Finland, states that pregnant women who are expected to give birth to a preemies are generally given steroid injections, which seem to increase the risk of behavioral and emotional difficulties of these children later on.
Mothers are given an infusion of glycocorticoids that act as the natural hormone cortisol if a preterm birth is suspected. This treatment helps the lungs of the infant to mature. But this study highlights the downsides of using such steroid injections.
The study states the steroid injection trigger mental health problems that include attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most common disorder found in young adults.
Preemies often suffer from lung problems that often lead to life threatening breathing difficulties. The effect of natural cortisol is replicated using synthetic glucocorticoids.
Alina Rodriguez, the senior author of the study, visiting professor at the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: "There are a lot of studies that have found links between stress in pregnancy and effects on children's mental health, especially ADHD, and this might be related to cortisol. Synthetic glucocorticoids mimic the biological reaction when the mother is stressed, so we wanted to see if babies who were exposed to this treatment are affected similarly in terms of mental health outcomes."
There were controversies involved over the use of glucocorticoids. Studies done earlier have highlighted an association between stress in pregnancy and symptoms of ADHD in kids.
This study focused on 37 kids who were exposed to synthetic glucocorticoids before birth and then compared to 185 kids who were born at the same gestational age, but not given the glucocorticoid treatment. Apart from this the researchers also analyzed a larger group of 6079 kids with similar pregnancy and infant characteristics.
They noticed that those kids who received the treatment had lower scores on general mental health at ages 8 and16 and were more likely to suffer from ADHD.
Rodriguez says, "This study suggests there may also be long-term risks for the child's mental health. Although this is the largest study so far to look at these risks, the number of children in our group who were exposed to glucocorticoids was still relatively small. More studies will be needed to confirm the findings. We would like to reassure parents that in light of all available evidence to date, the benefits of steroid treatment on immediate infant health and survival are well-established and outweigh any possible risk of long-term behavioural/emotional difficulties. Parents who are concerned that their child may be affected by behavioural or emotional difficulties should in the first instance contact their GP for advice.
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First Posted: Nov 23, 2013 02:51 AM EST
A new study claims that steroid injections given to pregnant mothers before premature births heighten the risk of mental health problems in the children later in life.
The study conducted by researchers at the Imperial College London in collaboration with researchers from the University of Oulu, Finland, states that pregnant women who are expected to give birth to a preemies are generally given steroid injections, which seem to increase the risk of behavioral and emotional difficulties of these children later on.
Mothers are given an infusion of glycocorticoids that act as the natural hormone cortisol if a preterm birth is suspected. This treatment helps the lungs of the infant to mature. But this study highlights the downsides of using such steroid injections.
The study states the steroid injection trigger mental health problems that include attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most common disorder found in young adults.
Preemies often suffer from lung problems that often lead to life threatening breathing difficulties. The effect of natural cortisol is replicated using synthetic glucocorticoids.
Alina Rodriguez, the senior author of the study, visiting professor at the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: "There are a lot of studies that have found links between stress in pregnancy and effects on children's mental health, especially ADHD, and this might be related to cortisol. Synthetic glucocorticoids mimic the biological reaction when the mother is stressed, so we wanted to see if babies who were exposed to this treatment are affected similarly in terms of mental health outcomes."
There were controversies involved over the use of glucocorticoids. Studies done earlier have highlighted an association between stress in pregnancy and symptoms of ADHD in kids.
This study focused on 37 kids who were exposed to synthetic glucocorticoids before birth and then compared to 185 kids who were born at the same gestational age, but not given the glucocorticoid treatment. Apart from this the researchers also analyzed a larger group of 6079 kids with similar pregnancy and infant characteristics.
They noticed that those kids who received the treatment had lower scores on general mental health at ages 8 and16 and were more likely to suffer from ADHD.
Rodriguez says, "This study suggests there may also be long-term risks for the child's mental health. Although this is the largest study so far to look at these risks, the number of children in our group who were exposed to glucocorticoids was still relatively small. More studies will be needed to confirm the findings. We would like to reassure parents that in light of all available evidence to date, the benefits of steroid treatment on immediate infant health and survival are well-established and outweigh any possible risk of long-term behavioural/emotional difficulties. Parents who are concerned that their child may be affected by behavioural or emotional difficulties should in the first instance contact their GP for advice.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone