---
title: "Psych News Alert: Tricyclic Antidepressant Use during Pregnancy Linked to Offspring’s Asthma Risk, Study Finds"
description: Women with depression who are taking first-generation antidepressants while pregnant may be putting their children at risk for asthma, ac...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_136771400_4a16-Jun-24-2025-03-40-17-6063-PM.jpg
---

 6/24/24 11:16 AM

# Tricyclic Antidepressant Use during Pregnancy Linked to Offspring’s Asthma Risk, Study Finds

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/03/tricyclic-antidepressant-use-during.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/03/tricyclic-antidepressant-use-during.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/03/tricyclic-antidepressant-use-during.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/03/tricyclic-antidepressant-use-during.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/03/tricyclic-antidepressant-use-during.html)

| ![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_136771400_4a16-Jun-24-2025-03-40-16-9673-PM.jpg?width=200&height=143&name=shutterstock_136771400_4a16-Jun-24-2025-03-40-16-9673-PM.jpg) |  |
| --- | --- |

Women with depression who are taking first-generation antidepressants while pregnant may be putting their children at risk for asthma, according to a [study](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2015/03/04/peds.2014-4073.long) published this week in *Pediatrics*.

Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark analyzed health records of 733,685 Danish children born between 1996 and 2007 to assess the impact of maternal antidepressants use during pregnancy and a possible relationship to asthma in offspring.

The researchers found that among children whose mothers used antidepressants during pregnancy, the results showed that offspring born to women who took older antidepressants—such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCA)—had a 26 percent increased risk of developing asthma, compared with those children whose mother took newer generation antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). When incorporating children born to mothers who were not depressed during pregnancy, the researchers found that maternal depression—treated or untreated—was associated with a 25 percent increased risk of childhood asthma in offspring.

Nada Stotland, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Rush University and an expert in OB-GYN psychiatry, praised the study for addressing such a topic. She told *Psychiatric News* that investigating the impact of maternal use of antidepressants on offspring is “important because so many women are depressed during pregnancy and worry about the impact of antidepressants. … It is probably best to stay away from older antidepressants—unless they are the only medications that have worked for a particular patient.” Stotland, a former APA president, added that, if possible, it is important for expecting mothers who are in need of mental health treatment to use psychotherapies and insist that insurers cover such services.

To read more about how prenatal exposure to psychotropic medicines may impact the health outcome of offspring, see *Psychiatric News* article, "[Lithium Use in Pregnancy May Contribute to Birth Defects, Miscarriages](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2014.6a6)," and "[Certain Cardiac Abnormalities Not Linked to Prenatal Antidepressant Use, Study Finds](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2014.8a10).

(Image: smikeymikey1/shutterstock.com)

[children](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/children), [antidepressant](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antidepressant), [asthma](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/asthma)

## Related posts

[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/mom_baby_iStock-944915014-Jun-24-2025-03-27-41-2665-PM.jpg?height=200&name=mom_baby_iStock-944915014-Jun-24-2025-03-27-41-2665-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/09/fetal-exposure-to-alcohol-associated.html)

[ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [pregnancy](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pregnancy), [ABCD study](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/abcd-study), [alcohol](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcohol), [impulsivity](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/impulsivity), [prenatal exposure](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prenatal-exposure), [oppositional defiant disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/oppositional-defiant-disorder), [separation anxiety](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/separation-anxiety)

## [Fetal Exposure to Alcohol Associated With Behavioral, Psychological Problems in Offspring](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/09/fetal-exposure-to-alcohol-associated.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 6/24/24 11:16 AM

[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/09/fetal-exposure-to-alcohol-associated.html)

[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/iStock-509619552-Jun-24-2025-03-51-04-5493-PM.jpg?height=200&name=iStock-509619552-Jun-24-2025-03-51-04-5493-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/antidepressant-use-in-pregnancy-and.html)

[JAMA Psychiatry](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/jama-psychiatry), [intellectual disability](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/intellectual-disability), [relative risk](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/relative-risk), [antidepressant use in pregnancy](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antidepressant-use-in-pregnancy), [confounding factors](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/confounding-factors)

## [Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy and Intellectual Disability in Offspring Not Associated, Concludes Study](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/antidepressant-use-in-pregnancy-and.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 6/24/24 11:16 AM

An international team of researchers analyzing data from a large Swedish national registry...

[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/antidepressant-use-in-pregnancy-and.html)

[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pregnant_woman_hospital_iStock-951855948-Jun-24-2025-03-46-01-9337-PM.jpg?height=200&name=pregnant_woman_hospital_iStock-951855948-Jun-24-2025-03-46-01-9337-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/06/prenatal-choline-supplements-may.html)

[schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schizophrenia), [ADHD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/adhd), [prenatal supplements](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prenatal-supplements), [Robert Freedman](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/robert-freedman), [autism](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/autism), [Journal of Psychiatric Research](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/journal-of-psychiatric-research), [COVID-19](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/covid-19), [choline](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/choline), [infections](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/infections), [Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/infant-behavior-questionnaire-revised), [infant behavior](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/infant-behavior)

## [Prenatal Choline Supplements May Protect Offspring if Mother Contracts Viral Infection](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/06/prenatal-choline-supplements-may.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 6/24/24 11:16 AM

Taking choline supplements during pregnancy may reduce the negative impact of viral respiratory...

[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/06/prenatal-choline-supplements-may.html)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert",
    "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T15:43:46.331Z",
  "datePublished" : "2024-06-24T15:16:15.000Z",
  "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Tricyclic Antidepressant Use during Pregnancy Linked to Offspring’s Asthma Risk, Study Finds",
  "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_136771400_4a16-Jun-24-2025-03-40-17-6063-PM.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/03/tricyclic-antidepressant-use-during.html",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg"
    }
  }
}
```