Antipsychotic Medication and Risk of Incident Seizure in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Analyses with Cohort and Within Individual Study Designs

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Nov;52(11):4817-4827. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-05208-0. Epub 2021 Nov 9.

Abstract

There are many case reports of seizures apparently associated with the prescription of antipsychotics. This study aimed to examine whether there is an association between the prescription of antipsychotics and incident seizures in individuals with autism spectrum disorder using retrospective data based on patients' chart review. A cohort study was conducted to compare the rate of incident seizure between 3923 users of antipsychotics with 10,086 users of other psychotropics. This was followed by a self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis of 149 patients to eliminate the effect of time-invariant confounders. The results showed no evidence of increased risk of seizure after exposure to antipsychotic agents (Hazard Ratio 1.28, 95% CI 0.74-2.19) compared to other psychotropics.

Keywords: Antipsychotic medication; Autism spectrum disorder (ASD); Incident seizure; Psychotropic medication.

MeSH terms

  • Antipsychotic Agents* / adverse effects
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder* / drug therapy
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder* / epidemiology
  • Cohort Studies
  • Humans
  • Psychotropic Drugs / therapeutic use
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Seizures / chemically induced
  • Seizures / drug therapy
  • Seizures / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antipsychotic Agents
  • Psychotropic Drugs