The World Health Organization has published that depression will be the second leading cause of death in 2020 . Prescribing antidepressants to combat it, even during pregnancy, will probably become a more than widespread practice. However, a recent study carried out by researchers at the University of Montreal (Canada) has revealed that antidepressants are associated with a significant and dangerous increase in the risk of autism in babies.
The causes of autism remain unclear, but the work has brought to the table the increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in future children whose mothers have been taking antidepressants to treat anxiety. For this, the researchers analyzed 145,456 children from the moment of their conception until they turned 10 years old, discovering that the use of antidepressants during the last two trimesters of pregnancy was associated with 87% more autism than in women who did not take this medication. Women who took this drug in the year before pregnancy – or even in the first trimester – did not show this association.
Of the 145,456 children examined, 1,054 were diagnosed with autism with a mean age of 6.2 years and with a much higher presence of boys than girls . “The causes of autism remain unclear, but studies have shown that both genetics and the environment can play a role. Taking antidepressants during the second or third trimester almost doubles the risk that the child will be diagnosed at the age of seven ”, explains Anick Bérard, leader of the study.
According to the scientists, antidepressants affect the brain development of the baby in the womb , “since serotonin is involved in numerous processes of pre and postnatal development, such as cell division and differentiation and synaptogenesis (creation of links between the cells of the brain) ”, clarifies Bérard.
The study has been published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
