ArticlePloS one2016
Is the Risk of Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight Affected by the Use of Antidepressant Agents during Pregnancy? A Population-Based Investigation.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Depression and antidepressant use in pregnancy and adverse maternal and offspring outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Placental and fetal consequences of maternal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use: current evidence and unresolved questions.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Article
- Use of Antibiotic Treatment in Pregnancy and the Risk of Several Neonatal Outcomes: A Population-Based Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Hypertensive Disorders during Pregnancy (HDP), Maternal Characteristics, and Birth Outcomes among Japanese Women: A Hokkaido Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Maternal, Fetal, and Child Outcomes of Mental Health Treatments in Women: A Meta-Analysis of Pharmacotherapy.Psychiatric research and clinical practice · 2021Review
- Serotonin Toxicity Versus Withdrawal: Clonidine One Size Fits All?The journal of pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics : JPPT : the official journal of PPAG · 2021Article
- Association between Adherence with Recommended Antenatal Care in Low-Risk, Uncomplicated Pregnancy, and Maternal and Neonatal Adverse Outcomes: Evidence from Italy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Warning of Immortal Time Bias When Studying Drug Safety in Pregnancy: Application to Late Use of Antibiotics and Preterm Delivery.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Observational
- Factors Associated with Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The Role of European Healthcare Databases for Post-Marketing Drug Effectiveness, Safety and Value Evaluation: Where Does Italy Stand?Drug safety · 2019Review
- Risk of preterm birth in primiparous women with exposure to antidepressant medication before pregnancy and/or during pregnancy - impact of body mass index.Annals of medicine · 2019Article
- Pregnancy outcomes in women with autism: a nationwide population-based cohort study.Clinical epidemiology · 2018Article
- Pregnancy Outcomes in Maternal Neuropsychiatric Illness and Substance Abuse.Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde · 2017Article
- Association of Antidepressant Continuation in Pregnancy and Infant Birth Weight.Journal of clinical psychopharmacologyArticle
- How to Read a Research Paper: An Exercise Using a Study on Continuation vs. Discontinuation of Antidepressants during Pregnancy.Indian journal of psychological medicineArticle
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 at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUntreated depression during pregnancy increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in the mother and child. Therefore, specific treatments are required for this population.
objectiveThe study aimed to investigating the effect of antidepressant medication used during pregnancy with reference to the risk of preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW).
methodsA population-based study was carried out with data provided by the healthcare utilization database of Lombardy, an Italian region with about ten million inhabitants. The study included 384,673 births from 2005 to 2010. Maternal use of antidepressants before and during pregnancy was investigated. Log-binomial regression was used to estimate the association between the use of antidepressants during pregnancy, compared to the non-use or use just before pregnancy, and the prevalence ratio of PTB and LBW.
resultsWomen who used antidepressants during pregnancy had a 20% (95% CI: 10-40%) increased prevalence of both PTB and LBW compared to those who never used antidepressants. There was no evidence that women who used antidepressants during pregnancy had a higher prevalence of the considered outcomes compared to women who used antidepressants before pregnancy, but stopped during pregnancy. Such findings were confirmed by considering separately the effects of SSRIs and other antidepressants together.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that depression in itself, rather than antidepressant medication, might be implicated in the causal pathway of PTB and LBW.
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Registered trials
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