Article examines studies on antidepressants, autism spectrum disorders

A new article published by JAMA Pediatrics reviews and analyzes a small collection of studies on fetal exposure to antidepressants and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Florence Gressier, M.D., Ph.D., of the Bicêtre University Hospital, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France, and coauthors identified 10 relevant studies with inconsistent results to examine ASDs and fetal exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy for each trimester and during the preconception period.

"Future studies, comprising an assessment of diagnoses, severity of illness and treatments at different stages in pregnancy and substance abuse, are needed and could help disentangle the role of the mother's psychiatric condition and psychotropic drug use in the risk for ASDs.

Further detailed observational data to address these confounding factors are required to investigate the association between antidepressant exposure and ASDs," the article concludes.