ReviewInternational journal of pediatrics2026
Cognitive Effects of Prenatal Exposure to SSRIs in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in International journal of pediatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Cognitive Effects of Prenatal Exposure to SSRIs in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of pediatrics · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Depression and anxiety occur in about 10% of pregnancies. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often prescribed, but their potential effects on fetal neurodevelopment remain uncertain. Because serotonin influences brain maturation, prenatal SSRI exposure may affect later cognition, language, or motor function. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated whether prenatal SSRI exposure is associated with differences in child cognitive, language, or psychomotor development. PubMed and Scopus were searched through June 2025 for cohort, case-control, or randomized studies reporting standardized neurodevelopmental outcomes in children (0-18 years) with documented in utero SSRI exposure compared with unexposed controls. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed bias (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale; RoB-2). Random-effects meta-analyses estimated standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Of 250 records identified, 17 studies met inclusion criteria, and 9 contributed to meta-analysis. For general cognition, pooled SMD = -0.20 (95% CI -0.50 to 0.10) showed no significant difference between groups. Sensitivity analyses restricted to SSRI-only cohorts and Bayley-specific instruments yielded similar findings. Secondary outcomes also showed no differences: receptive language (SMD = 0.04; 95% CI -0.16 to 0.23), expressive language (SMD = -0.17; 95% CI -0.40 to 0.06), and psychomotor development (SMD = -0.18; 95% CI -0.67 to 0.31). Conclusions: Current evidence does not support a clinically meaningful impact of prenatal SSRI exposure on early cognitive, language, or psychomotor development. Observed effects were small, imprecise, and diminished when analyses were limited to SSRI-only cohorts and harmonized outcome measures.
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.