A team of researchers, including Julia Steinberg from the University of Maryland in College Park and colleagues from Denmark, conducted a large population cohort study. They found that both medical and instrumental abortion do not lead to an increased chance of being prescribed any psychotropic medication for the first time in subsequent years.
The study utilized data from 67,390 women aged 12 to 38 (with an average age of 21.8 years), obtained from Danish health registries. These women underwent planned medical or instrumental abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy between January 2000 and December 2018. Regression models were used to assess possible changes in the probability of first psychotropic drug prescription after the procedure, taking into account various confounding factors. Bonferroni correction was applied to ensure accuracy when accounting for multiple tests.
Out of the total participants, 33,793 women had their first medical abortion, and 33,597 had their first instrumental abortion. Among them, 4,575 had a previously diagnosed psychiatric condition, and 19,979 received their first psychotropic medication during the observation period. Using the standard p-value cutoff of 0.05, a slight increase in the probability of psychotropic drug prescription was observed in the first year after both types of abortion (odds ratios of 1.10 and 1.09; p = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively). However, such associations were not recorded between the first and fifth years, and after the fifth year, a decrease in the probability of prescription was observed (0.85 and 0.83; p < 0.001 for both indicators).
After applying Bonferroni-corrected p-values (0.002), the statistical significance of the increased probability in the first year disappeared, while the trend toward decreased probability after five years remained statistically significant.
In another field, German, British, and Peruvian scientists conducted a series of experiments. They discovered that the sounds of local forest animals contribute to improving mental state more noticeably than the sounds of animals from other regions. Furthermore, this positive effect was enhanced with a higher level of perceived animal species diversity. This article was published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.
An analysis of electronic health records revealed a link between the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy and poorer newborn outcomes. It was found that these medications lead to lower scores on the Apgar scale at both one and five minutes of life, and also increase the probability of meconium entering the amniotic fluid.
According to specialists, approximately a quarter of women experience depressive syndrome during their lifetime. SSRIs are often prescribed as first-line therapy, and many women continue taking them while pregnant. Although it is known that these drugs can cross the placenta, information regarding the effect of SSRIs on the fetus and subsequent perinatal outcomes is limited due to the complexities involved in conducting studies on pregnant women.
A group of scientists led by Lisa Bastarash from Vanderbilt University conducted the study using electronic health record data. The analysis included 1014 pregnancies, with the average maternal age being 30.3 years.
The results showed that continued use of SSRIs during pregnancy correlated with lower Apgar scores at one and five minutes, as well as an increased chance of meconium entering the amniotic fluid (odds ratio was 1.73). Furthermore, the researchers did not find significant links to congenital anomalies, although this conclusion requires cautious interpretation due to the limited sample size. No differences were also found in the assessment of neonatal hospitalization risk in intensive care units.
Although the design and sample of the study do not allow for extrapolating the findings to the entire population, the conclusions point to a potential reduction in adaptive function in newborns when SSRIs are taken during pregnancy. Therefore, it is recommended that births for such women take place in medical facilities equipped with neonatal resuscitation capabilities. Nevertheless, long-term longitudinal studies are necessary for final confirmation of these results.
