Does antidepressant use during pregnancy increase the risk of autism in newborn?
According to an Autism Society report, autism among children has surged to 119.4% in the US since 2000. At the same time, more and more women are being diagnosed with depression, this, according to a Mental Health America. The report noted that most of these women are of childbearing age.
Now a study published British Medical Journal may have found the link between antidepressant use during pregnancy and rising autism rates among newborn. The study involved assessing 254,610 kids ages 4 to 17 years old. 5,378 of the participants have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or ASD.
Link confirmed between antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism risk in newborns
(Natural News) A recent study by researchers from the University of Bristol, England, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), is likely to cause great concern among pregnant women worldwide. Though the study’s authors have tried their best to downplay their findings, their research has revealed that children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy are at higher risk of developing autism than children whose mothers have psychiatric disorders but choose not to take these dangerous drugs during pregnancy.
The researchers analyzed data from 254,610 kids from Stockholm, aged between 4 and 17, of whom 5,378 had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
According to Science Daily, “Of the 3,342 children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy, 4.1% (136) had a diagnosis of autism compared with 2.9% (353) in 12,325 children not exposed to antidepressants whose mothers had a history of a psychiatric disorder.”
While the authors have tried to look for flaws in their own study methodology, and insist that the increased risk of autism is negligible, their insistence is not likely to reassure too many pregnant moms.
Image courtesy of: lindakoskinen
