Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology News
  • Antidepressant use...

Antidepressant use during pregnancy not linked to epilepsy in children

Written By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-06-07T18:00:34+05:30  |  Updated On 12 Oct 2023 4:46 PM IST
Antidepressant use during pregnancy not linked to epilepsy in children
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

MINNEAPOLIS: A new study suggests that antidepressant use by mothers during the first trimester of pregnancy does not increase the chances of epilepsy and seizures in babies. The research is published in the May 11, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"The findings of this study are very important," said study author Ayesha Sujan, PhD, of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. "Pregnancy can be a trying time, and the addition of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions can add to this burden. These findings may provide reassurance to women and their doctors considering the risks and benefits to medication."

The study looked at over 1.7 million children born in Sweden over a 17-year period. Researchers identified more than 24,000 children who had been exposed to antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy and compared them to those who were not exposed.

Antidepressants included medications to treat anxiety and depression, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRIs).

Researchers then looked at hospital admissions and outpatient specialist visits to identify children who had seizures during the first month of life or epilepsy in the first years of life. Among 1,551,906 children followed for one month after birth, 0.12%, or 1,864 children had neonatal seizures; and among 1,367,087 children followed for two to 17 years, 0.40%, or 5,424 children were diagnosed with epilepsy.

Though seizures in the first month of life were rare, they were more common among children who had been exposed to SSRIs or SNRIs during pregnancy compared to children who were not exposed to these antidepressants. Before adjusting for factors in the mothers such as age, epilepsy, socioeconomic status, and tobacco use, there were 1.7 per 1,000 exposed children having a neonatal seizure versus 1.2 per 1,000 unexposed children having a neonatal seizure. Similarly, while 5.4 per 1,000 exposed children had been diagnosed with epilepsy by the age of five, 4.1 per 1,000 unexposed children had been diagnosed with epilepsy by age five.

While the authors found a higher prevalence of neonatal seizures and epilepsy among exposed children compared to unexposed children, after adjusting for factors in the mothers associated with an increase in the risk of seizures in their newborn, they found no link between antidepressant use by mothers during the first trimester and a child's risk of seizures or epilepsy.

"While several studies have shown a possible link between antidepressant use by mothers during pregnancy and seizures in newborns and toddlers, our study suggested that antidepressant exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy does not increase the risk of seizures and epilepsy in children," Sujan said. "This could mean that the slightly elevated risk for such seizures documented in previous studies could be due to other factors such as other diseases or tobacco use during pregnancy."

A limitation of the study was that use of antidepressants was based on women reporting their own use only during the first trimester of pregnancy. The authors also note that they examined first trimester exposure, while some previous studies documented the strongest associations with antidepressant use and seizures or epilepsy in babies toward the end of pregnancy.

The study was funded by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Science Foundation, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, and the Swedish Research Council.

NeurologyepilepsypregnancyAntidepressantchildrenanxietydepressionnorepinephrinemothers
Source : Neurology
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Featured image representing medico legal

What's the Role of Expert Opinion in Medical Negligence?

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

Darbapoetin Alfa In Chemotherapy Induced Anaemia: Check out 5 takeaways from recent study

Darbapoetin Alfa In Chemotherapy Induced Anaemia: Check out 5 takeaways from recent study

View All

Journal Club Today

Medical Journalism: Need of the Hour - Ft: Dr Prem Aggarwal (Chairman, Medical Dialogues), Dr Nandita Mohan (Head, MDTV Division, Medical Dialogues)

Medical Journalism: Need of the Hour - Ft: Dr Prem Aggarwal (Chairman, Medical Dialogues), Dr...

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 08/ May/ 2025

Health Bulletin 08/ May/ 2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok