Anti-inflammatory drugs taken by pregnant women linked to autism (glucocorticoids)

full article
Anti-inflammatory drugs taken by pregnant women linked to autism

 

Isn’t the problem with studies like this that it could just as easily be the opposite that they’ve found eg that whatever these women had was ‘the cause’ so if they’d had less of these medications then the outcome could have been even worse/more severe autism?

 

If the causality goes they way they suggest it might, you’re essentially weighing the risk of one disability against another. Being born preterm is no joke, even just a few weeks.

Someone with more knowledge of stats might be able to say something about their analysis.

They also explained why they were looking at this:

Furthermore, our findings support those of previous animal and human studies. Mechanistically, the theory of fetal programming may be important.2,8,9,12

First, exposure may alter CNS structure and function.13-15,35-37 For example, animal studies have shown that prenatal administration delays both astrocyte and capillary tight junction maturation, and myelination of the corpus callosum in fetal sheep.35,36

Furthermore, administration has been reported to affect the neuronal cytoskeleton and presynaptic terminals in baboons.37Human studies have reported larger amygdala volume, altered neuronal connectivity, and altered CNS receptor density after prenatal exposure.13-15

Second, prenatal exposure may modify the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (stress axis) toward greater bursts of cortisol.8,9,12

Finally, administered glucocorticoids can suppress maternal production of cortisol.2 Cortisol and synthetic glucocorticoids display different receptor affinities and may disrupt natural development.

 

To me it is totally unsurprising that corticosteroids given to pregnant mothers might impair detail brain growth. But then we only give them to mothers who would otherwise be dead or too disabled to contemplate pregnancy otherwise (mostly lupus) and tend to have illnesses with major risks for the foetus anyway.

This may be additional useful data but, as has been said, this is a question of balancing risks.
I think it is irresponsible to title it 'anti-inflammatory drugs' since that term is largely used to mean drugs like ibuprofen or naproxen. Why not be precise and say steroids.

 

The paper has a better title, it’s the news outlet that’s using anti-inflammatory. Still not acceptable, though..

Mental Disorders Among Offspring Prenatally Exposed to Systemic Glucocorticoids