Pregnancy medicine and ADHD
A study performed in the Netherlands and published in the BJOG ( British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) reveals that the common drugs used to treat hypertension in pregnancy may affect child functional development.
The Dutch researchers investigated a Labetalol, a drug sometimes given to pregnant women to reduce high blood pressure. They examined the records of 4,000 women from 12 hospitals and tested 202 children. The children were tested for IQ, concentration level, motor development, and behavior.
The women had high blood pressure that had either been caused by their pregnancy or had been exacerbated by their pregnancy. They then compared Labetalol to another blood pressure drug, methyldopa. Labetalol was found to be twice as likely to cause ADHD. When the researchers compared mothers who were given no drugs to the mothers who were prescribed Labetalol , they found that the Labetalol children were four times more likely to have ADHD.
The Dutch scientists did not find that other functional development differed between the children.
The scientists said they are still developing a hypothesis and confirming a link between the drugs and a baby’s development would require further research.
Professor Philip Steer, BJOG editor-in-chief, said “The results of this study are interesting although they could have occurred by chance. Nonetheless, there are plausible reasons why antihypertensive drugs may be harmful to the functional development of the fetus, with long-term effects. One always has to balance the short-term benefits of a treatment against possible long-term consequences. The results suggest that more large-scale studies looking at the effects of antihypertensive drugs on the baby long-term are warranted.”
The study is limited due to possible bias in data collection. It is similar to other studies which find that pesticides, mercury, lead, allergens, etc., etc., etc., are the culprits. The bottom line is that there nothing conclusive here. More investigation is needed.
