Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy Not Linked to Autism in Children

Dr. Simone Vigod and her team of researchers are helping pregnant women who suffer from depression or anxiety to navigate their path of treatment.

“There is a real stigma around taking antidepressants during pregnancy. For most women, their number one concern is the health of their baby over their own. However, it is important to consider the impact that not treating mental illness can have on a fetus,” says Dr. Vigod, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and Lead of the Reproductive Life Stages (RLS) Program at Women’s College Hospital.

In her recent study, Dr. Vigod tracked 35,906 births in Ontario from 2002 to 2010. The study, which was published in JAMA on April 18, 2017, has found that antidepressant use in pregnancy is not linked to autism in children, debunking previous research that suggested a correlation.

“While women who used antidepressants did have a slightly higher risk of having a child with autism, this connection was much more tenuous when we accounted for other factors, such as genetics, severity of the mother’s illness and other environmental factors. Autism and depression are genetically linked, so there is a complexity here that we need to further explore,” explains Dr. Vigod, who was recently appointed as Director, Division of Equity, Gender and Population for the Department.

 “This study serves as a model of how diligent we have to be when conducting research, accounting for a wide variety of factors. We need to raise the bar when it comes to analyzing and comparing groups of people. Otherwise, data can be misrepresented,” says Dr. Vigod. “Our research techniques need to be as multi-faceted and intricate as autism itself. We need to move away from ‘one exposure equals one outcome’ thinking, and instead dig deep into the complexities of mental illness, weighing risks and benefits.”

Dr. Vigod took a three-pronged approach to her research:

• High-Dimensional Propensity Score (HDPS): Using HDPS to balance exposure group differences, Dr. Vigod found that taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in pregnancy is not independently linked with a greater risk of child autism.
• Sibling Comparison: Dr. Vigod found that there was no difference in autism risk between siblings whose mother had taken SSRI antidepressants during one pregnancy and not the other.
• Mother Comparison: Looking at mothers who took antidepressants during pregnancy, and those who stopped before pregnancy, Dr. Vigod found no difference in risk of autism.