ArticleDrug safety2021
Association Between Prenatal Opioid Exposure and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Early Childhood: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Article in Drug safety, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Maternal opioid use and hepatitis C infection disrupt the placental immune landscape and structure.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Prenatal Azithromycin Exposure and Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Teacher-reported kindergarten development among children exposed to prescription opioids during pregnancy.PloS one · 2026Article
- Prescribed opioid analgesic use in pregnancy and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children: A retrospective study in Sweden.PLoS medicine · 2025Article
- Maternal opioid use with and without hepatitis C infection disrupts the structure and immune landscape of the maternal-fetal interface.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Prefrontal cortical microglial transcriptome relates to mouse offspring executive function deficits after perinatal opioid exposure in a sex-dependent manner.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Article
- Beyond a simple cause and effect relationship: Exploring the long-term outcomes of children prenatally exposed to opioids and other substances.Seminars in perinatology · 2025Review
- The Association Between In Utero Exposure to Painkillers and Trajectories of Hyperactivity and Emotional Problems in Children with Autism Compared with Neurotypical Peers.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Neurodevelopmental outcomes in children prenatally exposed to opioid maintenance treatment: A population-based study.Pharmacotherapy · 2024Article
- Prenatal opioid exposure and subsequent risk of neuropsychiatric disorders in children: nationwide birth cohort study in South Korea.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Article
- Prenatal Exposure to Opioids and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children: A Bayesian Mediation Analysis.American journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
- Utilization of Antiseizure Medications in Women of Childbearing Age With Epilepsy and Nonepilepsy Indications: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Neurology · 2023Article
- Prenatal exposure to opioids and neurodevelopment in infancy and childhood: A systematic review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Review
- Analysis of Prenatal Exposure to Opioid Analgesics and Scholastic Skills in Children in Fifth Grade in Norway.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Prevalence and duration of prescribed opioid use during pregnancy: a cohort study from the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionSeveral studies have reported increasing prevalence of prescription opioid use among pregnant women. However, little is known regarding the effects of maternal opioid use on neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood in pregnant women with no evidence of opioid use disorders or drug dependence.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to quantify the association between prenatal opioid exposure from maternal prescription use and neurodevelopmental outcomes in early childhood.
methodsThis retrospective study included pregnant women aged 12-55 years and their live-birth infants born from 2010 to 2012 present in Optum's deidentified Clinformatics® Data Mart database. Eligible infants born to mothers without opioid use disorders or drug dependence were followed till occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders, loss to follow-up, or study end (December 31, 2017), whichever came first. Propensity score by fine stratification was applied to adjust for confounding by demographic characteristics, obstetric characteristics, maternal comorbid mental and pain conditions, and measures of burden of illnesses and to obtain adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Exposed and unexposed infants were compared on the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders.
resultsOf 24,910 newborns, 7.6% (1899) were prenatally exposed to prescription opioids. Overall, 1562 children were diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, with crude incidence rates of 2.9 per 100 person-years in exposed children versus 2.5 per 100 person-years in unexposed children. After adjustment, we observed no association between fetal opioid exposure and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (HR 1.10; 95% CI 0.92-1.32). However, increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders were observed in children with longer cumulative exposure duration (HR 1.70; 95% CI 1.05-2.96) or high cumulative opioid doses (HR 1.22; 95% CI 1.01-1.54). CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: In pregnant women without opioid use disorders or drug dependence, maternal opioid use was not associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood. However, increased risks of early neurodevelopmental disorders were observed in children born to women receiving prescription opioids for longer duration and at higher doses during pregnancy.
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