Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine and Methylphenidate Usage during Pregnancy and the Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children
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Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
Translated by Nhi Phuong Quynh Le, B.A |
Posted on June 10th, 2024
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With the increase in prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults, the amount of stimulant medication being prescribed had also increased. However, there is a limited number of studies that investigate the effect of these medications on the neurodevelopment of a fetus. A study, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, investigates the possible association between maternal usage of stimulant medication to treat ADHD and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in the child.
The retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Medicaid public health insurance and the Marketscan commercial database which included more than 4 million health records of pregnant women, between the age of 12 and 55, who had delivered live births between 2008 and 2020. Of these women, approximately 1 thousand were using methylphenidate, and 7 thousands were using amphetamine/dextroamphetamine by the 19th week of pregnancy. The same database was utilized to detect neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring. The disorders that was surveilled for include, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), learning disorders, speech disorders, developmental coordination disorder, intellectual disability,
and behavioral disorder. Preliminary data suggested that the usage of methylphenidate and amphetamine/dextroamphetamine increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorder in the children by 2 to 3 times. However, when factors such as maternal age, other concurrent maternal mental health diagnoses, other simultaneous medication, are adjusted during analysis to prevent limit the effect of confounding variable, the researchers observed that the usage amphetamines/dextroamphetamines and methylphenidate during pregnancy did not increase the risk for any neurodevelopmental disorder.
The retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Medicaid public health insurance and the Marketscan commercial database which included more than 4 million health records of pregnant women, between the age of 12 and 55, who had delivered live births between 2008 and 2020. Of these women, approximately 1 thousand were using methylphenidate, and 7 thousands were using amphetamine/dextroamphetamine by the 19th week of pregnancy. The same database was utilized to detect neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring. The disorders that was surveilled for include, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), learning disorders, speech disorders, developmental coordination disorder, intellectual disability,
and behavioral disorder. Preliminary data suggested that the usage of methylphenidate and amphetamine/dextroamphetamine increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorder in the children by 2 to 3 times. However, when factors such as maternal age, other concurrent maternal mental health diagnoses, other simultaneous medication, are adjusted during analysis to prevent limit the effect of confounding variable, the researchers observed that the usage amphetamines/dextroamphetamines and methylphenidate during pregnancy did not increase the risk for any neurodevelopmental disorder.