Antipsychotic Use Early in Pregnancy Does Not Appear to Increase Risk of Birth Defects

With the possible exception of risperidone, taking antipsychotics early in pregnancy does not appear to significantly increase the risk of newborns having birth defects, a study published yesterday inJAMA Psychiatryreports. According to the study authors, more research is needed to understand the small increase in risk for malformations associated with risperidone.To examine the risk for congenital defects associated with first-trimester exposure to different antipsychotics, Krista Huybrechts, M.S., Ph.D., of Brigham and Women ’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues analyzed a nationwide sample of over 1.3 million pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid. Exposure to antipsychotics was defined as filling at least one prescription during the first 90 days of pregnancy, and congenital malformations overa ll and cardiac malformations were assessed during the first 90 days after delivery.Among the 1,341,715 pregnancies included in the study cohort, 9,258 women (0.69%) filled a prescription for an atypical antipsychotic during the first trimester, and 733 women (0.05%) filled a prescription for a typical antipsychotic. The most frequently used atypical antipsychotic was quetiapine, followed by aripiprazole, risperidone, olanzapine, and ziprasidone.The authors found that overall, 32.7 per 1,000 infants not exposed to antipsychotics were diagnosed with congenital malformations compared with 44.5 per 1,000 infants exposed to atypical antipsychotics and 38.2 p...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: antipsychotics aripiprazole cardiac defects JAMA Psychiatry Katherine Wisner Krista Huybrechts olanzapine pregnancy quetiapine risperidone ziprasidone Source Type: research