Schizophrenia Research
Volume 116, Issue 1 , Pages 55-60, January 2010

Maternal schizophrenia and pregnancy outcome: Does the use of antipsychotics make a difference?

  • Herng-Ching Lin

      Affiliations

    • School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing St., Taipei 110, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 2736 1661x3613; fax: +886 2 2378 9788.
    • ,
  • I-Ju Chen

      Affiliations

    • School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Yi-Hua Chen

      Affiliations

    • School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Hsin-Chien Lee

      Affiliations

    • School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Fang-Jen Wu

      Affiliations

    • College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

Received 25 July 2009; received in revised form 13 October 2009; accepted 18 October 2009. published online 06 November 2009.

Abstract 

Objective

This study compared the risk of adverse pregnancy outcome—including preterm births, low birth weight (LBW), large-gestational-age (LGA), and small-gestational-age (SGA)—among mothers with schizophrenia receiving typical, atypical, and no antipsychotics during pregnancy. They were all compared with control subjects.

Methods

We used population-based data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database and birth certificate registry covering the years 2001 to 2003. In total, 696 mothers with schizophrenia and 3480 matched unaffected mothers were included for analysis. After adjusting for characteristics of mother, father, and infants, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the risk of LBW, preterm gestation, SGA, and LGA, comparing mothers with schizophrenia and unaffected mothers.

Results

After adjusting for potential confounders, the odds of LBW and SGA for unaffected mothers respectively were 0.72 (95% CI=0.50–0.88) and 0.81 (95% CI=0.64–0.92) times those of mothers with schizophrenia who had not receiving antipsychotics during pregnancy. There was no significant difference in the risk of LBW, preterm births, LGA, and SGA babies compared to mothers with schizophrenia receiving atypical antipsychotics during pregnancy and those not receiving antipsychotics. However, mothers with schizophrenia receiving typical antipsychotics during pregnancy had higher odds of preterm birth (OR=2.46, 95% CI=1.50–4.11) compared to those not receiving antipsychotics.

Conclusions

The data suggest that the risks for LBW and SGA among mothers with schizophrenia are not affected by antipsychotic use. Women who receive treatment with typical antipsychotics during pregnancy are at slightly higher risk of preterm birth.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, Antipsychotics, Pregnancy outcome

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: S0920-9964(09)00498-8

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2009.10.011

Schizophrenia Research
Volume 116, Issue 1 , Pages 55-60, January 2010

Article Tools