Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2015 May 19;4(5):e001681.
doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001681.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and the Risk of Congenital Heart Defects: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

Shang Wang  1 , Lijuan Yang  2 , Lian Wang  1 , Ling Gao  1 , Biao Xu  1 , Yunyun Xiong  3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and the Risk of Congenital Heart Defects: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

Shang Wang et al. J Am Heart Assoc. .

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have reported conflicting results on the association between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of heart defects. We aimed to assess the association between SSRIs in pregnant women during the first trimester and the risk of congenital heart defects.

Methods and results: PubMed and EMBASE up to July 2014 were searched for population-based cohort studies that reported SSRIs in pregnant women during the first trimester and live infants' heart defects at follow-up. A meta-analysis of published data was undertaken primarily by means of fixed-effects models. Four cohort studies including 1 996 519 participants were included with a mean follow-up period ranging from discharge to 72 months. SSRIs were not associated with increased risks of heart defects 1.06 (95% confidence interval: 0.94 to 1.18).

Conclusions: SSRIs during the first trimester in pregnant women were not associated with increased risks for newborn heart defects.

Keywords: SSRIs; antidepressant; congenital; heart defects; meta‐analysis; pregnant.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study selection. OR indicates odds ratio; RR, relative risk; SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnant women during the first trimester and the risk of congenital heart defects. References: Källén et al. (2007), Colvin et al. (2011), Nordeng et al. (2012), Huybrechts et al. (2014). CI indicates confidence interval; ES, effect size.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Evans J, Heron J, Francomb H, Oke S, Golding J. Cohort study of depressed mood during pregnancy and after childbirth. BMJ. 2001;323:257–260. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huybrechts KF, Palmsten K, Mogun H, Kowal M, Avorn J, Setoguchi-Iwata S, Hernández-Díaz S. National trends in antidepressant medication treatment among publicly insured pregnant women. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2013;35:265–271. - PMC - PubMed
    1. FDA advising of risk of birth defects with Paxil. News release of the Food and Drug Administration. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2005/ucm108527.... Accessed December 8, 2005.
    1. Colvin L, Slack-Smith L, Stanley FJ, Bower C. Dispensing patterns and pregnancy outcomes for women dispensed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnancy. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2011;91:142–152. - PubMed
    1. Alwan S, Reefhuis J, Botto LD, Rasmussen SA, Correa A, Friedman JM. Maternal use of bupropion and risk for congenital heart defects. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010;203:52. e1–6. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances