The Link Between Antidepressants And Autism. Part 3 of 3

Of nearly 627000 children born between 1996 and 2005, just under 3900 were later diagnosed with autism. Among those children, 52 were born to mothers who filled an SSRI drug during pregnancy. There were just over 6000 other children whose mothers used the antidepressants during pregnancy but did not develop autism. Both Hviid and Chambers said the findings do not check that SSRIs carry no autism risk.

And a connection is biologically plausible. No one knows what causes autism, which affects an estimated one in 88 children. But it involves a disruption in fetal perspicacity development. It’s thought that serotonin – the chemical that SSRIs target – contributes to early brain development, and in animals, altered serotonin levels can act upon brain function and behavior. “It’s still worthwhile to continue to study this.

But based on the human studies so far, “if there is any increased risk of autism, it appears small”. And for any one woman that possible risk would have to be balanced against the risks of leaving major depression untreated. “For some women, the optimal situation may be to take an SSRI, even if there is an association with autism” v tight gel how much mombasa price. Hviid agreed, saying that’s a settling that has to be left up to women and their health care provider.

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