title: Prenatal exposure to antidepressants and risk of epilepsy in childhood.
abstract: This study aimed to estimate the association between prenatal exposure to antidepressants and risk of epilepsy in childhood, taking maternal depression into account.
  
  
  
  We conducted a population-based cohort study including all Danish singletons born alive between 1997 and 2008 (n = 734 237). Information on antidepressant medication and diagnosis of depression and epilepsy was obtained from Danish National Registers. The exposed group comprised children of mothers who used antidepressants from 30 days before pregnancy until the date of birth. The reference group comprised children of mothers who used no antidepressants from 6 months before pregnancy to birth. We estimated the hazard ratios (HR) of epilepsy and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Cox proportional hazard models.
  
  
  
  We identified 12 438 (1.7%) children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy (including 30 days before pregnancy) and 5829 (0.8%) children diagnosed with epilepsy in the follow-up time (mean: 6.7 years). Children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy had a 27% higher risk of epilepsy (aHR: 1.27; 95%CI: 1.05-1.54) than children in the reference group. The estimate of this association was 1.71 (95%CI: 1.10-2.66) if their mothers also had a registry-based hospital diagnosis of depression in the 6 months before pregnancy or during pregnancy and 1.14 (95%CI: 0.91-1.43) if their mothers had no registry-based hospital diagnosis of depression. Children of mothers who used antidepressants from 2 to 6 months before pregnancy (but not during pregnancy) had an increased risk of epilepsy (aHR: 1.36; 95%CI: 1.07-1.73).
  
  
  
  Antidepressant use during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of epilepsy among children whose mothers had also a registry-based hospital diagnosis of depression during pregnancy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of NPFPC, SIPPR, IRD, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. ymao@ph.au.dk.|School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. ymao@ph.au.dk.|Department of Reproductive Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Shanghai, China. ymao@ph.au.dk.
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lars Henning
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: Research Unit for General Practice, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Section for General Medical Practice, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mogens
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vestergaard
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of NPFPC, SIPPR, IRD, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.|Department of Reproductive Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Weijin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jørn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Yuelian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
keywords: antidepressants; childhood epilepsy; depression; pharmacoepidemiology; pregnancy