Taking Xanax during pregnancy does NOT raise risk of autism in babies, major study rules

Taking Xanax during pregnancy does not raise a baby’s risk of autism, a major study has ruled.

Anxiety drug prescriptions and autism rates have increased in recent years, and previous studies suggested the two might be linked.  

Researchers analyzed medical records of nearly 1.5million mothers and children up to 14 years old who were born in Taiwan between 2004 and 2017.

After adjusting for other risk factors, like genetic history of neurodevelopmental disorders, there was ‘no evidence’ that anxiety medication correlated to a higher risk of autism in children. 

Dr Vincent Chen, an epidemiologist who led the research, said: ‘This cohort study found no evidence that benzodiazepine exposure during pregnancy was associated with increased risks of ASD or ADHD among offspring. 

‘Our results challenge current assumptions of a potential association of neurodevelopmental disorders with maternal benzodiazepine use before or during pregnancy.’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says women should be aware of the risks of taking benzodiazepines, including sedation, low muscle tone, and labored breathing. But the link to autism was never fully established.

Autism spectrum disorder refers to a broad range of conditions where children struggle to interact with their peers and may repeat behaviors.

It begins in early childhood, although some cases may not be diagnosed until children are in their teens or early adulthood.

About 5million people in the US are thought to have the condition.

Researchers at the Chiayi Chang Guny Memorial Hospital in Chiayi, south-western Taiwain, investigated the link between autism and benzodiazepine use in pregnancy.

Benzodiazepines – which include Xanax – are a class of psychoactive drugs known for their depressant effect on the central nervous system.

They quickly diffuse through the blood–brain barrier to cause sedative effects.

They are used for those struggling with sleep, anxiety, spasticity due to CNS pathology, muscle relaxation, and epilepsy. One of the debilitating side effects is their addictive potential 

Medical records of 1.13million mothers were extracted, who had given birth to 1.5million children.

All births took place between 2004 and 2017.

Mothers’ medical records were examined for those who were prescribed benzodiazepines during pregnant.

Children’s records were also accessed to show which had been diagnosed with autism.

A total of 826 out of the 76,000 children exposed to Xanax developed autism (1.1 per cent).

For comparison, among the children who were not exposed to the drug 13,200 of the 863,000 (0.9 per cent) in the group were diagnosed with the condition.

Initially, the analysis showed a slightly higher risk of autism among infants whose mothers took Xanax.

In the first trimester, they had a 13 per cent higher risk of developing autism, while in the second it was 10 per cent and the third 21 per cent.

But a sibling comparison was then carried out — comparing the risk of autism in infants born to the same mother.

This saw siblings with the same biological mother compared, controlling for factors including year of birth, gestational age, maternal smoking during pregnancy and other factors. 

These results showed there was no significant difference in autism rates between the two groups.

The study also looked at rates of ADHD among children.

But after controlling for confounding factors there was no difference in autism prevalence between babies whose mothers took the drugs during pregnancy compared to those whose mothers did not.