Autism in children linked to antidepressants in pregnancy, study suggests
Researchers find added risk for pregnant mums on mood-enhancing medications – but it’s small. In other studies: parents in Australia influence their kids’ drinking, and staying positive about ageing helps
Children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy are more likely to suffer autism, but the added risk is very small and may not, in fact, stem from the drugs, according to researchers.
The connection between medications used to treat depression and autism in children has shown up in earlier research, but investigators have been unsure whether the link is down to pre-existing illness, the antidepressants, or some other mix of factors.
Seeking a clearer picture, scientists led by Dr Dheeraj Rai at the University of Bristol in western England examined medical records for a quarter of a million individuals aged four to 17 living in Sweden from 2001 to 2011. Nearly 5,400 of them were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Parents of autistic kids need support too as more cases may be expected
For the purposes of the study, published in medical journal The BMJ, mothers were divided into three groups. They comprised those who did not take any antidepressants and showed no signs of mental illness; those who took antidepressants during pregnancy; and mothers with psychiatric disorders who did not take such drugs while pregnant.
Just over four per cent of the children exposed to mood-enhancing medications were diagnosed with autism, while just under three per cent of children not exposed to antidepressants – and whose mothers had a history of psychiatric troubles – were found to be on the spectrum.
The new investigation was not designed to investigate the cause for any link between antidepressants and the disorder. But even if a cause one day emerges, “the absolute risk of autism was small, so these results should not be considered alarming”, the authors said in a statement. AFP
