Polypharmacy in Pregnant Women with Major Psychiatric Illness

	Tweet

There is increasing concern about the use of multiple medications in populations with psychiatric illnesses. One large study reported that 99% of pregnant women had received a prescription for at least one medication during pregnancy, with a mean of 13.6 medications per woman. The present descriptive study examined patterns of medication use across pregnancy in a low socioeconomic status population of women who had a psychiatric illness as a primary diagnosis.

Method. Data on 115 pregnant women were extracted from a Medicaid Database of 5,000 women who received prenatal and other medical care over a 2-year period (2002-2004). Subjects included women with bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia. Information on age, diagnoses, dates prescriptions were filled, and type, dose, and quantity of medications was recorded in the database.

Results. Data were collected on 115 pregnancies; complete data throughout pregnancy were available for 75 women, while data on certain gestational months were available for the other 40 women. A majority of the 115 women were diagnosed with bipolar or schizoaffective disorder. Their mean age was 26 years. The mean number of medications taken during pregnancy was three (range 0-10; mode = 3); 26.8% of the pregnant women filled prescriptions for 6-10 medications during their pregnancy. No dose changes were made for the prescribed medications to accommodate changing metabolism across pregnancy. The most frequently prescribed medications for these psychiatrically ill women were from the opiate family.

Conclusions. Multiple medications are frequently prescribed to pregnant women with psychiatric disorders because of comorbid diagnoses. However, the effects of taking multiple psychotropic or other medications during pregnancy on pregnancy outcome and fetal development are unknown. Therefore, more research is needed concerning the effects on the developing fetus of taking multiple medications with central nervous system effects during pregnancy.

(C) 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
Journal of Psychiatric Practice. 13(6):385-392, November 2007.
PEINDL, KATHLEEN S. PhD; MASAND, PRAKASH MD; MANNELLI, PAOLO MD; NARASIMHAN, MEERA MD; PATKAR, ASHWIN MD

RELATED STORIES:
Steroids may relieve PTSD: animal studies   Younger Smokers on Fast Track to Behavior Problems Later   Multiple drugs may not help schizophrenics   Study Treats ‘Hidden Disorder’ Perinatal Anxiety   Most obese kids not depressed: study   Maternal depressive symptoms at 2 to 4 months post partum and early parenting practices   Heroin-assisted treatment for opioid dependence   Scientists hunt ways to stall Alzheimer’s earlier   Depression in Adolescents   Depression ups diabetes risk in middle-aged women   Most suicidal adolescents receive follow-up care after ER visits   Scientists Propose New Theory of Autism   Child abuse raises risk of later depression   Study Ties Ending Moderate Drinking to Depression   New drug rapidly treats depression

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]