Association Between Prenatal Exposure to Antipsychotics and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Preterm Birth, and Small for Gestational Age

Importance: The risk of birth and neurodevelopmental complications with prenatal exposure to antipsychotics is unclear. Objective: To evaluate the association between prenatal antipsychotics exposure and the risk of birth and neurodevelopmental problems. Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based cohort study included children born between January 2001 and January 2015 with follow-up to December 2019 who were identified by the Hong Kong Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. Pregnancies with maternal antidepressant/lithium exposure were removed. Primary analyses compared gestationally exposed and gestationally nonexposed individuals with propensity score fine stratification. Additional analyses included gestationally exposed individuals vs those with past exposure and a sibling-matched analysis to evaluate the effect of confounding by indication. Exposures: Prenatal antipsychotic exposure. Main Outcomes and Measures: Preterm birth (<37 gestational weeks), small for gestational age (birth weight