Prenatal Opioid Exposure Not Tied to Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Offspring
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, April 25, 2024 -- Prenatal opioid exposure seems not to be associated with a meaningful increase in the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring, according to a study published online April 24 in The BMJ.
Jiseung Kang, Ph.D., from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a nationwide birth cohort study to examine the potential association between prenatal opioid exposure and the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders in children in South Korea. Data were included for 3,128,571 infants, from 2,299,664 mothers; 2,912,559 infants had no prenatal opioid exposure and 216,012 had prenatal opioid exposure. Three cohorts were formed: full unmatched, propensity score-matched, and child screening cohorts, all of which were paired with sibling comparison cohorts.
The researchers found that in children with prenatal opioid exposure, the fully adjusted hazard ratio for neuropsychiatric disorders was 1.07 in the matched cohort, but no significant association was seen in the sibling comparison cohort. Increased risks for neuropsychiatric disorders in children were seen in association with prenatal opioid exposure during the first trimester, higher opioid doses, and long-term opioid use of 60 days or more (hazard ratios, 1.11, 1.15, and 1.95, respectively). A modestly increased risk for severe neuropsychiatric disorders (hazard ratio, 1.30), mood disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and intellectual disability in the child were seen with prenatal opioid exposure.
"Although a slightly increased risk was observed for neuropsychiatric disorders, given the observational nature of the study, these results should not be considered clinically meaningful," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted April 2024
Read this next
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Can Present at Any Stage of Lupus
TUESDAY, May 21, 2024 -- For patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), neuropsychiatric (NP) symptoms can first present at any stage in the disease course, according to a...
Recommendations Developed for People With HIV Wanting to Breastfeed
MONDAY, May 20, 2024 -- In an American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report published online May 20 in Pediatrics, recommendations are presented for breastfeeding among people...
AAN Issues Guideline for Use of Antiseizure Meds in People of Childbearing Potential
FRIDAY, May 17, 2024 -- In a practice guideline issued by the American Academy of Neurology, along with the American Epilepsy Society and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.