Journal article
Prospective assessment of autism traits in children exposed to antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy
AG Wood, C Nadebaum, V Anderson, D Reutens, S Barton, TJ O'Brien, F Vajda
Epilepsia | Published : 2015
DOI: 10.1111/epi.13007
Abstract
Purpose The association between autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and prenatal anticonvulsant exposure is increasingly investigated, but comprehensive, blinded assessment using a validated instrument for autism within a well-characterized prospective cohort has not been conducted. Thus, existing studies may represent an underestimate of the true risk. Herein we present a prospective cohort study in children exposed to anticonvulsants during pregnancy, with all assessments conducted by examiners who were blinded to drug-exposure status. Methods Participants were 105 Australian children aged 6-8 years who were recruited via the Australian Pregnancy Register for Women on Antiepileptic Medication..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We wish to thank all of the families who gave so generously of their time to participate in this research. This study would not have been possible without the efforts of Janet Graham and Alison Hitchcock from the Australian Pregnancy Register for Women with Epilepsy and Allied Disorders, whose work in identifying and liaising with the participants has been invaluable. The authors declare that this research was supported by grants from the Australian Research Council (LP0669648) to AW, VA, DR, FV, the Apex Foundation to AW, VA, DR, FV, and Pearson Plc to AW. These agencies had no role in the conduct of the study. Caroline Nadebaum and Sarah Barton were supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship, and Amanda Wood received Postdoctoral Research Funding from Australian Rotary Health. The Australian Pregnancy Register is grateful for financial support for its operations from the pharmaceutical industry, including Sanofi-Synthelabo, UCB Pharma, Janssen Cilag, Novartis, and Pfizer, as well as past support from Glaxo SmithKline. It also gratefully acknowledges the support of the Epilepsy Society of Australia, The Victorian Epilepsy Foundation, and Epilepsy Australia.