on PinterestA large study found no link between SSRI use before or during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
on PinterestA large study found no link between SSRI use before or during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Ekaterina Goncharova/Getty Images
- A comprehensive review found no causal link between antidepressant use before or during pregnancy and ADHD or autism.
- Any association of neurodevelopmental disorders appears to be linked to genetic or environmental factors.
- While antidepressants do have potential risks, it’s important to weigh them against the benefits.
- Untreated depression is associated with serious risks to both the pregnant person and their baby.
Antidepressants have recently come under scrutiny by top U.S. health officials despite their well-established safety and efficacy profiles.
A large international study investigated whether antidepressant use before or during pregnancy is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
Researchers from the published online in The Lancet Psychiatry on May 14, found no such association.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), around 10% of pregnant people experience depression. Untreated mental illness can lead to risks for both the pregnant person and their baby.
Antidepressants, therefore, are commonly prescribed during and after pregnancy.
Despite this, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discourages the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a commonly prescribed class of antidepressants.
These new findings could help dispel misinformation around antidepressant use during pregnancy.
Massive study examines SSRI use during pregnancy
The researchers reviewed dozens of previous studies to better understand whether antidepressant use before or during pregnancy was linked to neurodevelopmental conditions in children.
They examined outcomes including ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, motor disorders, and speech or language delays.
To do this, they searched several major medical research databases and screened nearly 2,000 studies before selecting 37 high quality studies to include in their final analysis.
Altogether, the research covered more than 648,000 pregnancies involving antidepressant exposure and nearly 25 million pregnancies without exposure.
The researchers combined the findings from these studies and adjusted for factors that could affect the results, such as maternal mental illness, family genetics, and differences in how antidepressant exposure was measured.
They also looked at different types of antidepressants, when they were used during pregnancy, dosage levels, and even paternal antidepressant use to help determine whether other underlying factors could explain the findings.
To improve transparency and research quality, the study plan was registered in advance through PROSPERO, an international database for systematic reviews.
No link between SSRIs and autism, ADHD
The analysis found that when mothers used antidepressants during pregnancy, there was a small increase in the chance of their children developing certain neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD and autism.
This increased risk was seen whether the antidepressants were used before or during pregnancy.
However, the researchers also found that when they carefully considered other factors — like the pregnant person’s mental health history or comparisons between siblings — the link between antidepressant use and these disorders became much weaker or disappeared entirely.
The researchers suggest that the underlying mental health of the parents and other family factors might explain most of the risk, rather than the antidepressant use itself.
Further bolstering the idea of the role of genetic
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