ArticlePharmacoepidemiology and drug safety2022
Valproate utilisation trends among women of childbearing potential in Ireland between 2014 and 2019: A drug utilisation study using interrupted time series.
Article in Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mixed Impact of Direct Healthcare Professional Communications When Considering Proximal Outcomes and the Targeted Population: A Systematic Review.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2025Pooled it
- Reducing Exposure Before Birth: An Interrupted Time Series Study of Prenatal Exposure to Fetotoxic Medications Under Risk Management Plans in Canada.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Article
- Trends in Use of Antiseizure Medicines in Women With Epilepsy in Pregnancy During 2018-2023 in an Irish Maternity Hospital: A Cohort Study.Obstetrics and gynecology international · 2026Article
- A retrospective cohort study of valproate and infertility in men with epilepsy or bipolar disorder using international health data.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Trends in Prenatal Exposure to Antiseizure Medications Over the Past Decade: A Nationwide Study.Neurology · 2025Article
- How effective is the implementation of the valproate pregnancy prevention programme in Montenegro? - A 7-year national retrospective study.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2025Article
- Prenatal Exposure to Valproic Acid Across Various Indications for Use.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Impact of Risk Minimisation Measures on Valproate Use among Women of Reproductive Age in Latvia Between 2013 and 2020: A 7-Year Nationwide Prescription Database Study.Drugs - real world outcomes · 2023Article
- Valproate utilisation trends among women of childbearing potential in Ireland between 2014 and 2019: A drug utilisation study using interrupted time series.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis study aimed to examine trends in valproate use among women of childbearing potential (WCBP) aged 16-44 years in Ireland following two European-directed regulatory interventions in December 2014 and April 2018.
methodsThis was a repeated cross-sectional study using monthly national pharmacy claims data, to examine trend changes in the prevalence of valproate use among WCBP pre and post two separate regulatory events in December 2014 and April 2018. Annual population estimates from the Central Statistics Office were used to calculate the prevalence rate per 1000 eligible women. Segmented regression analysis of interrupted time series with negative binomial regression was used to examine rates for WCBP aged 16-44 years, and by 10-year age groups. Prevalence ratios (PR) are presented with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
resultsAmong WCBP aged 16-44 years, there was no statistically significant change in the month-to-month prevalence ratio in the post- compared to pre-December 2014 intervention period. A significant decline was, however, observed in the post-, compared to pre-April 2018 intervention period (PR = 0.998, [95% CIs: 0.996, 1.000]; p = 0.029). Among those aged 16-24 years, a significant decreasing trend in the month-to-month prevalence ratio was found in the post- compared to pre-December 2014 intervention period (PR = 0.991, [95% CIs: 0.984, 0.998];p <0.01). A marginal effect was observed in the post- compared to pre-April 2018 intervention period for those aged 25-34 years (PR = 0.996, [95% CIs: 0.992, 1.000]; p = 0.048).
conclusionAlthough no evidence of change was observed following the December 2014 intervention period, a significant decline in the prevalence ratio of valproate use was observed after the 2018 intervention, which may reflect the introduction of the most recent contraindication measures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.