Prenatal triptan exposure not tied to ADHD risk among offsprings, finds JAMA study

Written By : Jacinthlyn Sylvia |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-06-23T09:45:38+05:30 | Updated On 23 Jun 2022 2:53 PM IST

Norway: A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that there is no increase in the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring exposed to triptan in the prenatal stage.

Triptans are often used to treat migraines. Triptan exposure during pregnancy may be related to poor fetal neurodevelopment; nevertheless, there is no data on the long-term safety of triptan usage during pregnancy. As a result, Gerd Marie Harris and colleagues undertook this study to investigate the relationship between mother triptan usage during pregnancy and the diagnosis and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children.

Data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (recruitment 1999-2008) were connected to national health registries for this study. Children born to migraine-affected mothers before or during pregnancy were included. There were two analytic samples defined: one for ADHD diagnosis and one for ADHD symptoms. The data was examined from May 1 to November 30, 2021. The study did not include maternal self-report of triptan usage during pregnancy. Exposed children were compared to two sets of unexposed children whose moms had migraines (1) during pregnancy and (2) solely before pregnancy.

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. There were 10 167 children in the ADHD diagnostic sample and 4367 children in the ADHD symptoms sample.

2. Children were tracked for a mean (standard deviation) of 10.6 (2.2) years.

3. Children exposed to triptans during pregnancy had no higher incidence of ADHD diagnosis than unexposed children whose mothers experienced migraine during pregnancy or unexposed children whose mothers had migraine just before pregnancy.

4. ADHD symptom ratings did not differ across exposed and unexposed children.

In conclusion, this cohort research discovered no link between prenatal triptan exposure and ADHD diagnosis or symptoms at the age of five. This study contributes to the expanding body of research on the safety of triptans during pregnancy by focusing on an essential neurobehavioral outcome.

Reference:

Harris, G. M., Wood, M., Ystrom, E., & Nordeng, H. (2022). Association of Maternal Use of Triptans During Pregnancy With Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Offspring. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 5, Issue 6, p. e2215333). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.15333

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderJAMA Network Openmigraine

Source : JAMA Network Open

Jacinthlyn Sylvia

Neuroscience Masters graduate

Jacinthlyn Sylvia, a Neuroscience Master's graduate from Chennai has worked extensively in deciphering the neurobiology of cognition and motor control in aging. She also has spread-out exposure to Neurosurgery from her Bachelor’s. She is currently involved in active Neuro-Oncology research. She is an upcoming neuroscientist with a fiery passion for writing. Her news cover at Medical Dialogues feature recent discoveries and updates from the healthcare and biomedical research fields. She can be reached at editorial@medicaldialogues.in

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