Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Use in Pregnancy —Associated With but Not Causative of Autism in Offspring

We read with great interest the umbrella review of Dragioti et al in this issue of JAMA Psychiatry that evaluated 45 nonoverlapping meta-analyses of observational studies examining potential adverse health effects of antidepressant agents. In this review, the authors report that there is “convincing evidence” of 2 associations: (1) selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were associated with increased risk of suicide attempt or completion in children and adolescents, and (2) SSRI or antidepressant use during pregnancy was associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). L ike the authors, we believe that these associations are not causal but rather attributable to confounding and methodologic limitations inherent in observational studies. As the authors write, “The few with convincing evidence of associations did not reflect causality.”

Source: JAMA Psychiatry - October 2, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research