Antidepressants May Raise Autism Risk

A baby’s experience in the womb, including drugs the mother takes, might affect autism risk, two studies suggest. One study looked at two groups of women. One group had children with autism. Children of women in the other group did not have the condition. Women in the first group were twice as likely as the others to have taken antidepressant drugs during pregnancy. These drugs were in a group called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). But any link would be a limited one, researchers said. More than 93% of the women whose children had autism did not take antidepressants while pregnant. Untreated depression can also cause risk for both mother and baby. The journal Archives of General Psychiatry published the study July 5. The same issue also included a study of 192 sets of twins. At least one twin in each pair had autism.