A Group of Antidepressants May Cause Birth Defects

Researchers from the U.S. and Canada have found that a group of antidepressants known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are linked to the birth defects when taken by the mother during pregnancy, The Guardian reported.

Over the last few years, scientists have suspected a possible link between SSRIs and birth defects, however up until recently, such a link hadn't been confirmed. The new study was designed to investigate the alleged connection between the popular antidepressants and the abnormalities of newborns such as heart defects and malformations of the brain.

During the study, which was published in the British Medical Journal, scientists analyzed the data collected from 18,000 women who gave birth to babies with birth defects and compared it to the data from 10,000 women who gave birth to healthy babies. The babies that were subject to the new study were born between October 1997 and December 2009.

The SSRIs that were investigated in the study were namely Prozac (fluoxetine), Celexa (citalopram), Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine) and Lexapro (escitalopram). The researchers noted that most commonly used SSRI by the subject mothers during pregnancy was Zoloft, with a whooping rate of 40%, reported by The Guardian.

SSRIs have become increasingly popular since the late 1990s and have been preferred over the traditional treatment for depression and anxiety. The traditional treatment was considered to be less safe and tolerable by the patients.

Although the new study establishes a link between birth defects and use of SSRIs in pregnant women, the authors of the study noted that such risk is still considered low. "Although our analysis strongly supports the validity of the associations that were observed, the increase in the absolute risks, if associations are causal, is small," The Guardian reported.

Despite the fact that the risk is low, the study provides essential information for women of childbearing age so they can make informed decisions and assess their own risk of getting pregnant while taking SSRIs, the scientists noted.