ArticleBJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology2016
Prenatal antidepressant exposure and child behavioural outcomes at 7 years of age: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort.
Article in BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of parental prenatal mental health with offspring neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2026Pooled 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
- Antidepressant medication during pregnancy and epigenetic changes in umbilical cord blood: a systematic review.Clinical epigenetics · 2016Pooled it
- The microbiome as a modulator of neurological health across the maternal-offspring interface.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2025Review
- Consensus Panel Recommendations for the Pharmacological Management of Pregnant Women with Depressive Disorders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Maternal SSRI use during pregnancy and offspring depression or anxiety disorders: A review of the literature and description of a study protocol for a register-based cohort study.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2023Review
- Prenatal Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Exposure, Depression, and Brain Morphology in Middle Childhood: Results From the ABCD Study.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2023Article
- Article
- Maternal Depression and Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and Associations with Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality in Adolescent Children.Clinical epidemiology · 2023Article
- Specialty grand challenge editorial innovative approaches for pharmacoepidemiologic research in pregnancy: Shifting the paradigm of Thalidomide's impact on pregnant women.Frontiers in drug safety and regulation · 2023Article
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) in Pregnancy: An Updated Review on Risks to Mother, Fetus, and Child.Current psychiatry reports · 2022Review
- Article
- Prenatal antidepressant exposure and child development at kindergarten age: a population-based study.Pediatric research · 2021Article
- Maternal, Fetal, and Child Outcomes of Mental Health Treatments in Women: A Meta-Analysis of Pharmacotherapy.Psychiatric research and clinical practice · 2021Review
- Antidepressants during pregnancy: a French drug utilisation study in EFEMERIS cohort.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2019Article
- Annual Research Review: Maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy and offspring neurodevelopmental problems - a critical review and recommendations for future research.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2019Review
- Effect of Time-Dependent Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Antidepressants During Pregnancy on Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Development in Preschool-Aged Children.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2018Article
- Sex-dependent effects of maternal corticosterone and SSRI treatment on hippocampal neurogenesis across development.Biology of sex differences · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the impact of prenatal antidepressant exposure on behavioural problems in children at 7 years of age.
designNationwide population-based study.
settingDanish National Birth Cohort. POPULATION: A cohort of 49 178 pregnant women recruited between 1996 and 2002.
methodsData obtained from computer-assisted telephone interviews twice during pregnancy were used to identify children born to: (i) depressed women who took antidepressants during pregnancy (n = 210); (ii) depressed women who did not take any antidepressants during pregnancy (n = 231); and (iii) healthy women who were not depressed (n = 48 737). Childhood behavioural problems at 7 years of age were examined using the validated Danish parent-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
main outcome measuresSDQ scores.
resultsNo associations were observed between prenatal antidepressant exposure and abnormal SDQ scores for overall problem behaviour (adjusted relative risk, aRR 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI 0.49-2.05), hyperactivity/inattention (aRR 0.99; 95% CI 0.56-1.75), or peer problems (aRR 1.04; 95% CI 0.57-1.91). Although prenatal antidepressant exposure appeared to be associated with abnormal SDQ scores on the subscales of emotional symptoms (aRR 1.68; 95% CI 1.18-2.38) and conduct problems (aRR 1.58; 95% CI 1.03-2.42), these associations were significantly attenuated following adjustment for antenatal mood status (aRR 1.20; 95% CI 0.85-1.70 and aRR 1.19; 95% CI 0.77 1.83, respectively). Untreated prenatal depression was associated with an increased risk of all behavioural outcomes evaluated, compared with unexposed children, with significant attenuation following adjustment for antenatal mood status.
conclusionsThe results of this study suggest that independent of maternal illness, prenatal antidepressant exposure is not associated with an increased risk of behavioural problems in children at 7 years of age. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Prenatal antidepressant exposure is not associated with an increased risk of child behavioural problems.
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