Kids may have benefited from mother’s medication
Children whose mothers took a class of anti-depressant drugs while they were pregnant scored higher on computerized tests to measure thinking and memory, according to the initial results of a study.
In other words, the anti-depressants taken by pregnant mothers seem to make their 12-year-old children smarter.
“We’re very cautious about making any firm conclusions at this point,” said Dr. Sarah Hutchison, study leader and senior author.
“These are still preliminary results. We want to be careful about making the message clear to the general public.
“There is evidence both from animal models and human studies that SSRI exposure does potentially change brain development. We don’t know what the long-term impact of that will be.”
Hutchison is a University of B.C. post-doctoral fellow at B.C. Children’s Hospital.
The study abstract was presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Toronto on Sunday. Results have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The results are part of an ongoing longitudinal study that followed 51 children from 26 weeks of pregnancy to 12 years of age. Investigators looked at mom’s mood during and after pregnancy and at children’s executive functions (higher-level thinking skills such as planning and problem solving ).
The mothers were all taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants during their pregnancy.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and emotion. By making more of the neurotransmitter serotonin available in the brain, SSRIs improve the mood of people suffering from depression.
Hutchison said the higher-level brain functions are measured using standardized computerized tests.
“When we look at the percentage of numbers correct, the children who had the pre-natal SSRI exposure did significantly better on the task,” she said.
Hutchison said it’s up to each woman to decide on what form of treatment is best for her.
“We want to make sure that mothers get the treatment that they need,” she said. “That’s the big take-home message.”
She said that in some cases “with some women, it is more beneficial” to take SSRIs than to remain “very, very depressed during pregnancy.”
The 51 children in the study were followed by Dr. Tim Oberlander and Dr. Adele Diamond, University of B.C. professors.
Oberlander, developmental pediatrician at B.C. Children’s Hospital, said that the results parallel what was found among the same cohorts at age six.
“We found that children with pre-natal exposure to anti-depressants had improved or better results,” he said by phone. “This is quite surprising.”
Oberlander said more research is needed to determine whether improved cognitive skills among children exposed to antidepressants in the womb is associated with risks such as increased anxiety.
“The impact of prenatal antidepressant exposure is not cause and effect,” Oberlander said in a news release.
“When it comes to assessing the long-term impact of SSRI exposure before birth, genes and family life play a powerful role in influencing how a child will be affected.”
Oberlander said researchers will now study the remaining children in the cohort of 120.
They’re part of his research program examining the effects of maternal depression on babies and children.
“What we are doing is working to improve optimal outcomes for mothers and for children,” he said.
“At the core it is not just about antidepressants. It is about recognizing and managing mental health during pregnancy and childbirth.”