Maternal use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and neurobehavioral problems in offspring at 3 years: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background Acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used drugs during pregnancy globally. Recent studies have reported associations between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and neurobehavioral problems in children, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders. Little research has investigated these associations in preschool-age children or the potential confounding effects of prenatal stress. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and offspring neurobehavioral problems at the age of 3 years, with a focus on the potentially confounding effects of prenatal stress. Methods We used data from the First Baby Study, a prospective cohort study conducted in Pennsylvania, USA, with 2,423 mother-child pairs. Women reported medication use and completed a prenatal stress inventory during their third trimester. Child behavioral problems were measured at the age of 3 years, using the 7 syndrome scale scores from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for ages 1 ½ to 5. Results There were 1,011 women (41.7%) who reported using acetaminophen during pregnancy. Children who were exposed to acetaminophen during pregnancy scored significantly higher on 3 of the 7 CBCL syndrome scales: withdrawn, sleep problems and attention problems. Scores on all 7 of the CBCL syndrome scales were significantly associated with prenatal stress. After adjustment for prenatal stress and other confounders, 2 syndrome scales remained significantly higher in children exposed to acetaminophen: sleep problems (aOR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.01–1.51) and attention problems (aOR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.01–1.45). Conclusions These findings corroborate previous studies reporting associations between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and attention problems in offspring and also show an association with sleep problems at age 3 years. Because use of acetaminophen during pregnancy is common, these results are of public health concern and suggest caution in the use of medications containing acetaminophen during pregnancy.

Potential adverse actions of prenatal exposure of acetaminophen to offspring

“…During pregnancy and breastfeeding periods, woman may use APAP to relieve acute or chronic and it may cause negative consequence to offspring ( Scialli et al, 2010 ). Maternal APAP use during pregnancy is implicated in certain adverse outcomes in offspring, including attention and sleep problems ( Sznajder et al, 2022 ). The cohort studies report that prenatal APAP exposure results in adverse neurodevelopment, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder associated with frontoparietal network brain connectivity ( Ystrom et al, 2017 ).…”

Maternal and paternal licit and illicit drug use, smoking and drinking and autism spectrum disorder

“…The classes of medicines utilized during pregnancy associated with the development of ASD include antipyretics/painkillers 4,11,13 , antidepressants 12 , antiepileptic drugs 4,8,10 and antibiotics 9,13,14 . This association has been observed when exposure to the drug occurs in the first and second trimesters 14 or second and third trimesters 23 or throughout pregnancy 11 . However, other studies found no association between maternal drug utilization and ASD [24][25][26][27] .…”

Projeto De Extensão Bebê a Bordo: Análise Ex Ante

“…A saúde mental das mulheres durante a gestação também é uma área de preocupação A depressão e a ansiedade são as condições mais comuns, de maior prevalência, como demonstrado por estudos da literatura (FARREN et al, 2022;TAMIRU et al, 2022;RUNKLE et al, 2023). A presença desses transtornos pode ter consequências negativas para a saúde da mãe e do feto, incluindo um aumento do risco de parto prematuro, baixo peso ao nascer, desmame precoce e um maior risco de problemas comportamentais e emocionais na criança (SZNAJDER et al, 2022). Além disso, a saúde mental das mães também pode ser afetada após o parto e, algumas puérperas podem desenvolver depressão, que é um transtorno depressivo maior, com impacto significativo e duradouro, na mãe e no bebê (INEKWE;LEE, 2022).…”