Purpose

This study sought to determine the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and antidepressant exposure during early-mid pregnancy, overall and according to antidepressant affinity to the histamine-1 (H1) receptor.

Methods

Data originate from the nation-wide, Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study conducted in 1999-2008, linked to the national Medical Birth Registry. The study included 6647 pregnancies within women with depressive/anxiety disorders during and/or six months prior to pregnancy. Pregnancies exposed in early-mid gestation to antidepressants having low (group 1, n=814) or high (group 2, n=77) affinity to the H1 receptor were compared to non-medicated (n=5756). We fit crude and weighted modified Poisson regression models using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW).

Results

Overall, 84 (1.3%) of the pregnancies developed GDM. Relative to non-medicated pregnancies, the risk of GDM was slightly lower in antidepressant group 1 exposed (1.3% vs 1.1%), but more elevated in those exposed to group 2 antidepressants (3.9%). In the weighted analysis, there was no evidence for an association between antidepressant group 1 exposure in early-mid pregnancy and risk of GDM (Relative Risk (RR): 0.69, 95% (CI): 0.31-1.51).

Conclusions

Gestational use of antidepressants with low H1 receptor affinity, mainly SSRIs and SNRIs, does not pose a substantial risk of GDM in women with depressive/anxiety disorders in pregnancy, compared to no use.

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