Observational studyBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2018
Paternal use of antidepressants and offspring outcomes in Sweden: nationwide prospective cohort study.
Observational study in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 4 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on the role of paternal factors in human placental development, function, and pregnancy-related disorders.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Pooled it
- British Society for Rheumatology guideline on prescribing drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding: comorbidity medications used in rheumatology practice.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2023Guideline
- Physical exercise interventions for perinatal depression symptoms in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The influence of paternal preconception health on birth defects and head circumference: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Association of paternal preconception hepatitis B virus infection with the risk of preterm birth between 2010 and 2020 in China: a population-based cohort study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Association between parental psychiatric disorders and risk of offspring autism spectrum disorder: a Swedish and Finnish population-based cohort study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2024Article
- Executive Summary: British Society for Rheumatology guideline on prescribing drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding: comorbidity medications used in rheumatology practice.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Anything New about Paternal Contribution to Reproductive Outcomes? A Review of the Evidence.The world journal of men's health · 2021Review
- Cohort profile: Epidemiology and Genetics of Obsessive-compulsive disorder and chronic tic disorders in Sweden (EGOS).Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2020Article
- Inherited Risk for Autism Through Maternal and Paternal Lineage.Biological psychiatry · 2020Article
- The Association Between Prenatal Exposure to Antidepressants and Autism: Some Research and Public Health Aspects.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Review
- Paternal antidepressant use as a negative control for maternal use: assessing familial confounding on gestational length and anxiety traits in offspring.International journal of epidemiology · 2019Article
- The contribution of environmental exposure to the etiology of autism spectrum disorder.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the association between paternal antidepressant use at conception and offspring preterm birth, malformations, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability.
designObservational prospective cohort study with regression methods, and negative control comparison.
settingSweden nationwide.
participants170 508 children conceived from 29 July 2005 and born in 2006-07, followed up to 2014 at age 8-9 years. This cohort included 3983 children born to fathers receiving antidepressant treatment during the conception period (that is, from four weeks before conception to four weeks after), a control group of 164 492 children not exposed to paternal antidepressant use, and a negative control comparison group of 2033 children born to fathers who did not use antidepressants during the conception period but began antidepressant treatment later during the pregnancy period (that is, from four weeks after conception to childbirth).
main outcome measureOffspring preterm birth, malformation diagnosed at birth, diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, and diagnosis of intellectual disability.
resultsPaternal antidepressant use during conception was not associated with preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.79 to 1.04)) or malformations (1.06 (0.90 to 1.26)) using logistic regression, compared with offspring born to unexposed fathers. No association was seen between antidepressant use during conception and autism (adjusted hazard ratio 1.13 (0.84 to 1.53)) or intellectual disability (0.82 (0.51 to 1.31)) using Cox regression. In children whose fathers initiated antidepressant treatment during pregnancy, results were similar for all outcomes apart from intellectual disability, which had an increased adjusted hazard ratio (1.66 (1.06 to 2.59)). Compared with the 2033 children whose fathers initiated antidepressant treatment during pregnancy, the 3983 children exposed to paternal use of antidepressants at conception had no differences in preterm birth, malformation, and autism, but a reduced risk of intellectual disability (adjusted hazard ratio 0.49 (0.26 to 0.93)).
conclusionPaternal intake of antidepressants during the period around conception is safe with respect to the risk of the four major adverse outcomes in offspring-preterm birth, malformation, autism, or intellectual disability.
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