Connection between Antidepressant
and Autism
Antidepressants are commonly prescribed for treating major
depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, including in pregnant women. Depression
is common in women of childbearing age, and in Europe 3-8% of pregnant women
are prescribed antidepressants during pregnancy. One of the most commonly
prescribed antidepressants is fluoxetine. Fluoxetine can cross the placenta and
is also detected in breast milk. Children exposed to antidepressants during
pregnancy seem to be at a slightly higher risk of autism
than children of mothers with psychiatric disorders who were not treated with
antidepressants during pregnancy. Children are categorised into four groups
according to mothers’ antidepressant use within two years before and during
pregnancy: unexposed, antidepressant discontinuation (use before but not during
pregnancy), antidepressant continuation (use both before and during pregnancy),
and new user (use only during pregnancy).
Women who take antidepressants during pregnancy may be more
likely to have children with autism. Children of women who took antidepressants
during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy were 87 percent more likely
to develop autism than kids born to women who didn’t take the drugs.
The
major questions are:
- What are the possible links between autism and antidepressants use during pregnancy
- Whether this is due to the underlying illness, antidepressant drugs, or other unmeasured factors?
- Whether the use of one type of antidepressant medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRIs) during pregnancy is associated with autism spectrum disorder in offspring?
- Should women stop taking antidepressants while pregnant?
To clear all these above confusions join WPC 2019
Contact details:
Lauren Kelly
Program Manager, WPC 2019
Telephone: +1-201-380-5561
Email: pediatricscongress@meglobalcongress.com
Lauren Kelly
Program Manager, WPC 2019
Telephone: +1-201-380-5561
Email: pediatricscongress@meglobalcongress.com