Autisme et antidépresseurs pendant la grossesse.

Les causes de l'autisme et des syndromes associés sont complexes. Des facteurs génétiques et environnementaux sont retrouvés et surtout une interaction gène environnement.
Les antidépresseurs de type Prozac c'est à dire les inhibiteurs de la recapture de la sérotonine augmentent légèrement le risque d'autisme. Compte tenu de ce risque il semble très important de réduire l'exposition des femmes enceintes à ces médicaments.

Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders
Lisa A. Croen, PhD; Judith K. Grether, PhD; Cathleen K. Yoshida, MS; Roxana Odouli, MSPH; Victoria Hendrick, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. Published online July 4, 2011. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.73
Context  The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has increased over recent years. Use of antidepressant medications during pregnancy also shows a secular increase in recent decades, prompting concerns that prenatal exposure may contribute to increased risk of ASD.
Objective  To systematically evaluate whether prenatal exposure to antidepressant medications is associated with increased risk of ASD.
Design  Population-based case-control study. Medical records were used to ascertain case children and control children and to derive prospectively recorded information on mothers' use of antidepressant medications, mental health history of mothers, and demographic and medical covariates.
Setting  The Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California.
Participants  A total of 298 case children with ASD (and their mothers) and 1507 randomly selected control children (and their mothers) drawn from the membership of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California.
Main Outcome Measures  ASDs.
Results  Prenatal exposure to antidepressant medications was reported for 20 case children (6.7%) and 50 control children (3.3%). In adjusted logistic regression models, we found a 2-fold increased risk of ASD associated with treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors by the mother during the year before delivery (adjusted odds ratio, 2.2 [95% confidence interval, 1.2-4.3]), with the strongest effect associated with treatment during the first trimester (adjusted odds ratio, 3.8 [95% confidence interval, 1.8-7.8]). No increase in risk was found for mothers with a history of mental health treatment in the absence of prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Conclusion  Although the number of children exposed prenatally to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in this population was low, results suggest that exposure, especially during the first trimester, may modestly increase the risk of ASD. The potential risk associated with exposure must be balanced with the risk to the mother or fetus of untreated mental health disorders. Further studies are needed to replicate and extend these findings.