Association between antidepressant use in pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus: Results from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study

Purpose This study sought to determine the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and antidepressant exposure during early‐mid pregnancy, overall and according to antidepressant affinity to the histamine‐1 (H 1 ) receptor. Methods Data originate from the nation‐wide, Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study conducted in 1999–2008, linked to the national Medical Birth Registry. The study included 6647 pregnancies within women with depressive/anxiety disorders during and/or 6 months prior to pregnancy. Pregnancies exposed in early‐mid gestation to antidepressants having low (group 1, n = 814) or high (group 2, n = 77) affinity to the H 1 receptor were compared to non‐medicated ( n = 5756). We fit crude and weighted modified Poisson regression models using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Results Overall, 84 (1.3%) of the pregnancies developed GDM. Relative to non‐medicated pregnancies, the risk of GDM was slightly lower in antidepressant group 1 exposed (1.3% vs 1.1%), but more elevated in those exposed to group 2 antidepressants (3.9%). In the weighted analysis, there was no evidence for an association between antidepressant group 1 exposure in early‐mid pregnancy and risk of GDM [relative risk (RR): 0.69, 95% confidence interval: 0.31–1.51]. Conclusions Gestational use of antidepressants with low H 1 receptor affinity, mainly SSRIs and SNRIs, does not pose a substantial risk of GDM in women with depressive/anxiety disorders in pregnancy, compared to no use.