ArticlePediatrics2014
Prenatal SSRI use and offspring with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delay.
Article in Pediatrics, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Association of parental prenatal mental health with offspring neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise and yoga during pregnancy and their impact on depression: a systematic literature review.Archives of women's mental health · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Long-Term Effects of Intrauterine Exposure to Antidepressants on Physical, Neurodevelopmental, and Psychiatric Outcomes: A Systematic Review.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association between maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder: an updated meta-analysis.Molecular autism · 2018Pooled it
- Maternal SSRI discontinuation, use, psychiatric disorder and the risk of autism in children: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2017Pooled it
- Maternal use of antidepressant or anxiolytic medication during pregnancy and childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes: a systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2014Pooled it
- An experimental test of the fetal programming hypothesis: Can we reduce child ontogenetic vulnerability to psychopathology by decreasing maternal depression?Development and psychopathology · 2018Trial
- Sterol pathway disruption in pregnancy: a link to autism.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Role of Serotonin in Brain Development: From Molecular Pathways to Neurodevelopmental Risk.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Review
- The microbiome as a modulator of neurological health across the maternal-offspring interface.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2025Review
- Prenatal environmental risk factors for autism spectrum disorder and their potential mechanisms.BMC medicine · 2024Review
- Management of Pregnant Women with Mental Disorders Requires Attention to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2024Article
- Prenatal Antidepressant Exposures and Autism Spectrum Disorder or Traits: A Retrospective, Multi-Cohort Study.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2023Article
- Article
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) in Pregnancy: An Updated Review on Risks to Mother, Fetus, and Child.Current psychiatry reports · 2022Review
- Perinatal exposure to fluoxetine and maternal adversity affect myelin-related gene expression and epigenetic regulation in the corticolimbic circuit of juvenile rats.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine associations between prenatal use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the odds of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other developmental delays (DDs).
methodsA total of 966 mother-child pairs were evaluated (492 ASD, 154 DD, 320 typical development [TD]) from the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study, a population-based case-control study. Standardized measures confirmed developmental status. Interviews with biological mothers ascertained prenatal SSRI use, maternal mental health history, and sociodemographic information.
resultsOverall, prevalence of prenatal SSRI exposure was lowest in TD children (3.4%) but did not differ significantly from ASD (5.9%) or DD (5.2%) children. Among boys, prenatal SSRI exposure was nearly 3 times as likely in children with ASD relative to TD (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 2.91; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-7.93); the strongest association occurred with first-trimester exposure (OR: 3.22; 95% CI: 1.17-8.84). Exposure was also elevated among boys with DD (OR: 3.39; 95% CI: 0.98-11.75) and was strongest in the third trimester (OR: 4.98; 95% CI: 1.20-20.62). Findings were similar among mothers with an anxiety or mood disorder history.
conclusionsIn boys, prenatal exposure to SSRIs may increase susceptibility to ASD or DD. Findings from published studies on SSRIs and ASD continues to be inconsistent. Potential recall bias and residual confounding by indication are concerns. Larger samples are needed to replicate DD results. Because maternal depression itself carries risks for the fetus, the benefits of prenatal SSRI use should be carefully weighed against potential harms.
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Registered trials
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