Association of Timing and Duration of Prenatal Analgesic Opioid Exposure With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children

IMPORTANCE: Prior studies have reported that the use of illicit opioids during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring; however, evidence regarding the association of analgesic opioids is limited. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of timing and duration of prenatal analgesic opioid exposure with ADHD in children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study uses data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort study (1999-2008), a nationwide birth cohort study linked to national health registries, with a mean (SD) follow-up of 10.8 (2.2) years. A total of 73 784 live-born singleton children born to 62 013 mothers who reported a pain-related condition before and/or during pregnancy were included, with 2 comparator groups: (1) mothers who did not use any opioids and (2) mothers who used opioids before pregnancy only. Data were analyzed from June to December 2020. EXPOSURES: Maternal self-report of analgesic opioid use during pregnancy, by timing (early and middle and/or late) and duration (≥5 weeks vs ≤4 weeks). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Diagnosis of ADHD or filled prescription for ADHD medication in children and symptoms of ADHD at child age 5 years, measured by Conners’ Parent Rating Scale–Revised. Inverse probability of treatment weights were used to control for measured confounding. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs. RESULTS: The analyses of ADHD diagnosis and ADHD symptoms included 73 480 children (35 996 [49.0%] girls; mean [SD] maternal age, 30.0 [4.6] years) and 31 270 children (15 377 [49.2%] girls; mean [SD] maternal age, 30.5 [4.4] years), respectively. Overall, 1726 children in the ADHD diagnosis sample (2.3%) and 667 children in the ADHD symptom sample (2.1%) were exposed to an analgesic opioid at least once during gestation. No associations between timing of prenatal analgesic opioid exposure and ADHD diagnosis or symptoms was found. Exposure for 5 or more weeks was associated with an increased risk of ADHD diagnosis (HR, 1.60, 95% CI, 1.04-2.47) compared with exposure for 4 weeks or less; however, there was no such association for the risk of ADHD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, a slightly elevated risk of ADHD diagnosis after prenatal analgesic opioid exposure for 5 or more weeks was found compared with exposure for 4 weeks or less. This result may be driven by longer duration of use; however, the role of residual or unmeasured confounding cannot be excluded. This finding needs to be replicated in other studies.