Opioids during pregnancy linked to child hospitalizations — News-Medical

A study of nearly 3 million children in South Korea found that children whose mothers received prescriptions for opioids during pregnancy were hospitalized more often in childhood. News-Medical reports on the results of the work, published on October 13 in the journal PLOS Medicine.

Data from nearly 3 million children Scientists analyzed nationwide health insurance data for mothers and children in South Korea. The cohort included 2,928,186 children born between 2010 and 2017, who were followed up to the age of 14. Prenatal opioid exposure was defined as cases in which the mother received two or more prescriptions for such medications during pregnancy.

The hospitalization rate among children with such prenatal exposure was 28% higher than among children without it: the adjusted rate ratio was 1.28, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.28–1.29. Comparisons of siblings from the same family also showed a higher hospitalization rate, but the difference was smaller — 8%.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram . The association was stronger at an early age The authors recorded a relationship between medication dose and hospitalization rates: the adjusted rate ratio was 1.19 for low doses and 1.40 for high doses. The elevated rates included hospitalizations due to infections and diseases of the respiratory, digestive, and genitourinary systems.

This association was strongest before the age of five, and most pronounced during the first year of life. The researchers stressed that the results do not mean opioids should not be prescribed to pregnant women when medically necessary. At the same time, they noted that such medications should be used at the lowest effective dose and for the shortest necessary time.

The authors also cautioned that the analysis was based on electronic medical records, which do not confirm actual medication use, and that factors shared within families could partly explain the association found.