Maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy does not increase epilepsy risk in babies

A brand new examine means that antidepressant use by moms during the primary trimester of pregnancy does not increase the probabilities of epilepsy and seizures in babies. The analysis is revealed in the Could 11, 2022, on-line problem of Neurology^®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The findings of this examine are essential. Pregnancy generally is a attempting time, and the addition of melancholy, nervousness, and different psychological well being circumstances can add to this burden. These findings could present reassurance to girls and their docs contemplating the dangers and advantages to medicine.”

Ayesha Sujan, PhD, examine creator, Indiana College in Bloomington, Indiana

The examine checked out over 1.7 million youngsters born in Sweden over a 17-year interval. Researchers recognized greater than 24,000 youngsters who had been uncovered to antidepressants during the primary trimester of pregnancy and in contrast them to those that had been not uncovered.

Antidepressants included medicines to deal with nervousness and melancholy, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRIs).

Researchers then checked out hospital admissions and outpatient specialist visits to establish youngsters who had seizures during the primary month of life or epilepsy in the primary years of life. Amongst 1,551,906 youngsters adopted for one month after beginning, 0.12%, or 1,864 youngsters had neonatal seizures; and amongst 1,367,087 youngsters adopted for 2 to 17 years, 0.40%, or 5,424 youngsters had been recognized with epilepsy.

Although seizures in the primary month of life had been uncommon, they had been extra widespread amongst youngsters who had been uncovered to SSRIs or SNRIs during pregnancy in comparison with youngsters who had been not uncovered to those antidepressants. Earlier than adjusting for components in the moms similar to age, epilepsy, socioeconomic standing, and tobacco use, there have been 1.7 per 1,000 uncovered youngsters having a neonatal seizure versus 1.2 per 1,000 unexposed youngsters having a neonatal seizure. Equally, whereas 5.4 per 1,000 uncovered youngsters had been recognized with epilepsy by the age of 5, 4.1 per 1,000 unexposed youngsters had been recognized with epilepsy by age 5.

Whereas the authors discovered a better prevalence of neonatal seizures and epilepsy amongst uncovered youngsters in comparison with unexposed youngsters, after adjusting for components in the moms related to an increase in the risk of seizures in their new child, they discovered no hyperlink between antidepressant use by moms during the primary trimester and a baby’s risk of seizures or epilepsy.

“Whereas a number of research have proven a potential hyperlink between antidepressant use by moms during pregnancy and seizures in newborns and toddlers, our examine steered that antidepressant publicity in the primary trimester of pregnancy does not increase the risk of seizures and epilepsy in youngsters,” Sujan stated. “This might imply that the marginally elevated risk for such seizures documented in earlier research could possibly be resulting from different components similar to different ailments or tobacco use during pregnancy.”

A limitation of the examine was that use of antidepressants was based mostly on girls reporting their very own use solely during the primary trimester of pregnancy. The authors additionally observe that they examined first trimester publicity, whereas some earlier research documented the strongest associations with antidepressant use and seizures or epilepsy in babies towards the top of pregnancy.

The examine was funded by Nationwide Institute of Neurological Problems and Stroke, Nationwide Institute of Psychological Well being, Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse, the Nationwide Science Basis, the Swedish Analysis Council for Well being, Working Life and Welfare, and the Swedish Analysis Council.