Antiseizure medication use during pregnancy and children’s neurodevelopmental outcomes

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53813-1
• Publication Date: 2024-11-15T10:04:45Z
• Authors: Paul Madley-Dowd; Viktor H. Ahlqvist; Harriet Forbes; Jessica E. Rast; Florence Z. Martin; Caichen Zhong; Ciarrah-Jane S. B...; Daniel Berglind; Michael Lundberg; Kristen Lyall; Craig J. Newschaffer; Torbjörn Tomson; Neil M. Davies; Cecilia Magnusson; Dheeraj Rai; Brian K. Lee
• Keywords: Valproic Acid/adverse effects; Male; Topiramate/adverse effects; Adult; Pregnancy Complications/drug therapy; Adolescent; Neurodevelopmental Disorders/chemically induced; Science; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/chemically induced; Carbamazepine/adverse effects; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/drug therapy; Article; Cohort Studies; Pregnancy; Humans; Intellectual Disability/epidemiology; Registries; Child; Anticonvulsants/adverse effects; United Kingdom/epidemiology; Q; Infant; Sweden/epidemiology; Child, Preschool; Female; Lamotrigine/adverse effects; Autistic Disorder/drug therapy; Epilepsy/drug therapy

AbstractThe teratogenic potential of valproate in pregnancy is well established; however, evidence regarding the long-term safety of other antiseizure medications (ASMs) during pregnancy remains limited. Using routinely collected primary care data from the UK and nationwide Swedish registries to create a cohort of 3,182,773 children, of which 17,495 were exposed to ASMs in pregnancy, we show that those exposed to valproate were more likely to receive a diagnosis of autism, intellectual disability, and ADHD, when compared to children not exposed to ASMs. Additionally, children exposed to topiramate were 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disability (95% CI: 1.23–4.98), and those exposed to carbamazepine were 1.25 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism (95% CI: 1.05–1.48) and 1.30 times more likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disability (95% CI: 1.01–1.69). There was little evidence that children exposed to lamotrigine in pregnancy were more likely to receive neurodevelopmental diagnoses. While further research is needed, these findings may support considering safer treatment alternatives well before conception when clinically appropriate.