Maternal SSRI exposure increases the risk of autistic offspring: A meta-analysis and systematic review

BACKGROUND: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most common antidepressants used to preclude maternal pregnancy depression. There is a growing body of literature assessing the association of prenatal exposure to SSRIs with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present systematic review and meta-analysis reviewed the medical literature and pooled the results of the association of prenatal exposure to SSRIs with ASD. METHODS: indices (variation in odds ratio [OR] attributable to heterogeneity) were calculated to analyze the risk of heterogeneity of the within- and between-study variability. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported by a Mantel-Haenszel test. The pooled results showed a significant association between prenatal SSRI exposure and ASD (OR=1.82, 95% CI=1.59-2.10, Z=8.49, P=0.00). CONCLUSION: The evidence from the present study suggests that prenatal exposure to SSRIs is associated with a higher risk of ASD.