{"id":131426,"date":"2026-04-16T14:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=131426"},"modified":"2026-04-17T13:41:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:41:49","slug":"study-suggests-link-between-prenatal-exposure-to-certain-medications-and-increased-autism-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/04\/16\/study-suggests-link-between-prenatal-exposure-to-certain-medications-and-increased-autism-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Study suggests link between prenatal exposure to certain medications and increased autism risk\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\">\n<p>OMAHA,\u202fNebraska<strong>\u202f\u2014<\/strong>\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41380-026-03610-7\">A landmark study<\/a> led by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and published in\u202f<em>Molecular Psychiatry<\/em>\u202fhas\u202fidentified\u202fa significant association between prenatal\u202fprescription\u202fof\u202fcommonly\u202futilized\u202fmedications and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Analyzing\u202f6.14\u202fmillion maternal-child health records from the Epic Cosmos database\u202f\u2014representing\u202fnearly one-third of all U.S. births between 2014 and 2023\u202f\u2014\u202fthe team found that\u202fprescription of\u202fmedications known to inhibit\u202fthe cholesterol synthesis pathway\u202fwere consistently associated with higher rates of ASD in offspring.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While\u202fprevious\u202fstudies grouped medications by their indications, the UNMC team grouped prescribed medications together based on common effects and side effects on sterol biosynthesis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These sterol biosynthesis\u2013inhibiting medications (SBIMs) include certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics,\u202fbeta-blockers\u202fand statins.\u202fThese are the generic names of the 14 medications studied:\u202faripiprazole, atorvastatin, bupropion, buspirone, fluoxetine, haloperidol, metoprolol, nebivolol, pravastatin, propranolol, rosuvastatin, sertraline,\u202fsimvastatin\u202fand trazodone.\u202fMany of these are among the\u202fmost commonly prescribed\u202fmedications in the United States, accounting for more than\u202f400 million annual prescriptions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key findings<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mothers prescribed at least one SBIM during pregnancy had a 1.47-fold higher risk\u202fof having a child diagnosed with ASD.\u202fRisk increased in a dose-dependent manner.\u202fFor each\u202fadditional\u202fSBIM co-prescribed, there was a 1.33 times increased risk of ASD, reaching\u202f2.33-fold risk when\u202ffour\u202for more SBIMs were prescribed simultaneously.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Among the 196,447 children diagnosed with ASD in the cohort,\u202f14.2% had prenatal SBIM exposure.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use of SBIMs during pregnancy increased sharply over time, rising from 4.3% of pregnancies in 2014 to 16.8% in 2023.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why sterol biosynthesis matters<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cholesterol is essential for\u202ffetal development, especially for the brain,\u202fthe most cholesterol-rich organ. The fetal brain begins producing its own sterols around 19\u201320 weeks\u202fof gestation.\u202fGenetic disruptions in this pathway are known to cause severe developmental syndromes such as Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), in which\u202fup to\u202f75% of children meet criteria for ASD.&nbsp;Many widely used medications\u202fcan\u202funintentionally interfere with this pathway.\u202fThis\u202fstudy is the first nationwide investigation to evaluate the neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with prenatal exposure to\u202fthis group of\u202fmedications.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A public health signal requiring attention<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur findings do not suggest that these medications are unsafe for adults,\u201d said corresponding author\u202fKaroly\u202fMirnics, MD, PhD,\u202fdean\u202fand director of\u202fthe\u202fUNMC\u202fMunroe-Meyer Institute. \u201cBut they raise important questions about their use during pregnancy, a period when even small biochemical disruptions may have outsized effects on fetal brain development.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The authors stress that\u202fno pregnant patient should\u202fdiscontinue\u202for alter medication without medical supervision, as many SBIMs are essential, often life-saving treatments. Instead, the study calls for a re-evaluation of prescribing practices and for developing safer alternatives for use during pregnancy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Potential\u202fnext steps<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The research team proposes several actions to improve drug safety for pregnant patients:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Create a comprehensive list of medications with sterol-inhibiting effects.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evaluate all new pharmaceuticals for unintended sterol pathway inhibition.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase provider education\u202fabout medication-associated sterol disruption\u202fduring pregnancy.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discuss safer alternatives\u202fwhen\u202fdiscontinuing\u202ftreatment is not possible.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid\u202fprescribing multiple\u202fSBIMs\u202ffor pregnant women\u202fwhenever\u202ffeasible.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify\u202fpatients with genetic vulnerabilities\u202fin sterol metabolism, as they might be particularly sensitive to SBIM\u202feffects.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Invest in further research\u202fto understand mechanisms and mitigate risk.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The work was conducted using the Epic Cosmos national data platform and included collaboration among UNMC\u2019s Department of Pediatrics, Department of Biostatistics, Munroe-Meyer Institute,\u202fother UNMC\u202fdepartments\u202fand the\u202fChild Health Research Institute\u202f(CHRI).\u202fThe study received support from UNMC\/CHRI\u202finternal resources,\u202fthe Dorothy B. Davis Foundation\u202fand\u202fthe\u202fNebraska\u202fTobacco Settlement\u202fFund.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>About UNMC<\/em><\/strong><em>\u202f<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>As Nebraska\u2019s only public academic health science center, the University of Nebraska Medical Center enrolls more than 4,800 students across six colleges, two institutes and a graduate studies\u202fprogram. A nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, UNMC\u2019s mission is to create a healthier future for Nebraskans through premier education, research and clinical care, but its impact \u2013 rooted in a\u202fculture of collaboration, big ideas and public-private partnerships \u2013 goes far beyond, in areas that include infectious diseases, rural health, cancer research and treatments, global health security, intellectual and developmental disabilities<\/em><em>,\u202f<\/em><em>and simulation and experiential learning technologies.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"\/secure-location.php\" title=\"QiHa X\">QiHa X<\/a> --><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Research\u202fidentifies\u202fcommonly prescribed,\u202fsterol biosynthesis-inhibiting medications\u202fas potential contributors to neurodevelopmental vulnerability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":131427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"63837,72267,48860,67339,67100,43271","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release","author_override-unmc-strategic-communications"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ 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