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Association between prenatal exposure to analgesics and risk of schizophrenia

Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark

Erik L. Mortensen, CandPsych

Department of Health Psychology, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

June M. Reinisch, PhD

Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Sarnoff A. Mednick, PhD, DrMedSci

Social Science Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Correspondence: Erik Lykke Mortensen, Department of Health Psychology, Copenhagen University, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. Tel: +45 3532 7839; fax: +45 3532 7748; e-mail: e.l.mortensen{at}pubhealth.ku.dk

Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background Disturbances in the central nervous system originating during foetal life may increase the risk of schizophrenia.

Aims To illuminate the hypothesis that prenatal exposure to analgesics may affect foetal neurodevelopment, leading to increased risk of schizophrenia in adulthood.

Method Using data from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort and from the Danish Psychiatric Central Register, we studied the relationship between prenatal exposure to analgesics and the risk of schizophrenia. The effect of prenatal exposure was adjusted for parental history of schizophrenia, second-trimester viral infections, concomitant drug treatment during pregnancy, an index of pregnancy complications, parental social status and parental age.

Results In a risk set of 7999 individuals, 116 cases of schizophrenia were found (1.5%). Prenatal exposure to analgesics in the second trimester was associated with an elevated risk (adjusted odds ratio 4.75, 95% CI1.9–12.0).Independent of the covariates, the effect remained statistically significant.

Conclusions Independent of a wide range of possible confounders, a significant association between second-trimester exposure to analgesics and increased risk of schizophrenia was observed.

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