Chan, Adrienne YL;
Gao, Le;
Howard, Louise M;
Simonoff, Emily;
Coghill, Dave;
Ip, Patrick;
Lau, Wallis CY;
... Man, Kenneth KC; + view all
(2023)
Maternal benzodiazepines and z-drugs use during pregnancy and adverse birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring: a population-based cohort study.
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
(In press).
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Abstract
Introduction: The use of benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs in women of childbearing age has increased. / Objective: To evaluate whether gestational benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs exposure is associated with adverse birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes. / Methods: A population-based cohort including mother-child pairs from 2001–2018 in Hong Kong was analysed to compared gestationally exposed and nonexposed children on the risk of preterm birth, small for gestational age, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) through logistic/Cox proportional hazards regression. Sibling-matched analyses and negative control analyses were applied. / Results: When comparing gestationally exposed with gestationally nonexposed children, the weighted odds ratio (wOR) was 1.10 (95%CI=0.97–1.25) for preterm birth and 1.03 (95%CI=0.76–1.39) for small for gestational age while the weighted hazard ratio (wHR) was 1.40 (95%CI=1.13–1.73) for ASD and 1.15 (95%CI=0.94–1.40) for ADHD. Sibling-matched analyses showed no association between gestationally exposed children and their gestationally nonexposed siblings for all outcomes (preterm birth: wOR=0.84, 95%CI=0.66–1.06; small for gestational age: wOR=1.02, 95%CI=0.50–2.09; ASD: wHR=1.10, 95%CI=0.70–1.72; ADHD: wHR=1.04, 95%CI=0.57–1.90). Similarly, no significant differences were observed when comparing children whose mothers took benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs during pregnancy to children whose mothers took benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs before but not during pregnancy for all outcomes. / Conclusions: The findings do not support a causal relationship between gestational benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs exposure and preterm birth, small for gestational age, ASD, or ADHD. Clinicians and pregnant women should carefully balance the known risks of benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs use against that of untreated anxiety and sleep problems.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Maternal benzodiazepines and z-drugs use during pregnancy and adverse birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring: a population-based cohort study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://www.karger.com/Journal/Home/223864 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Autism spectrum disorder; Mental health; Pregnancy; Preterm birth; benzodiazepines; z-drugs; Small for gestational age |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Practice and Policy |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10163026 |
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