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Use of antipsychotic drugs and mood stabilizers in women of childbearing age with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: epidemiological survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2013

C. Barbui ,
V. Conti ,
M. Purgato ,
A. Cipriani ,
I. Fortino ,
A. L. Rivolta  and
A. Lora
C. Barbui*
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
V. Conti
Affiliation:
Regional Centre for Pharmacovigilance, Lombardy Region, Milano, Italy
M. Purgato
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
A. Cipriani
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
I. Fortino
Affiliation:
Operative Unit of Territorial Health Services, Lombardy Region, Milano, Italy
A. L. Rivolta
Affiliation:
Regional Centre for Pharmacovigilance, Lombardy Region, Milano, Italy
A. Lora
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Azienda Ospedaliera Della Provincia di Lecco, Lecco, Italy
*
*Address for correspondence: Professor C. Barbui, Section of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy. (Email: corrado.barbui@univr.it)
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Abstract

Aims.

To determine the prevalence of women of childbearing age with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder exposed to antipsychotic (AP) drugs and mood stabilizers (MS) in Lombardy, a European region of 10 million inhabitants and 1 752 285 women of childbearing age.

Methods.

The data concerning psychiatric care, drug treatments and pregnancy outcomes were retrieved from local administrative databases during a 12-month census period.

Results.

During a 12-month census period, 2893 women of childbearing age with schizophrenia (74.8% of all women of childbearing age with schizophrenia) and 918 with bipolar disorder (80.1% of all women of childbearing age with bipolar disorder) were exposed to AP drugs or MS, yielding a prevalence of exposure for women with schizophrenia of 1.65 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59–1.71) per 1000 female inhabitants, and for women with bipolar disorder of 0.52 (95% CI 0.49–0.55) per 1000 female inhabitants. Persistent exposure to potentially teratogenic medications accounted for one in every 1000 women of childbearing age. Of the 57 pregnancies in women with schizophrenia, normal delivery was recorded in 23 (40%) cases; of the 26 pregnancies in women with bipolar disorder, normal delivery was recorded in 10 (38%) cases.

Conclusions.

In women of childbearing age with severe mental disorders, exposure to psychotropic drugs is substantial, which suggests that the issue of reproductive health is epidemiologically relevant and a major public health concern.

Keywords

bipolar disorderchildbearing agepsychotropic drugsschizophrenia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 355 - 361
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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