Paternal exposure to antiepileptic drugs and offspring outcomes: a nationwide population-based cohort study in Sweden

This Swedish registry study found paternal use of antiepileptics during the conception period was not associated with an increased risk of major congenital malformations (adjusted OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.2), or autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.

SPS commentary:

Although paternal use of valproate monotherapy during conception was associated with slightly higher rates of autism (2.9 vs 2.1/1000 child-years) and intellectual disability (1.4 vs 0.9/1000 child-years) than those seen in the offspring of fathers with epilepsy who did not use AEDs during conception, no statistically significant increased risk of adverse outcomes was found in the propensity-score adjusted analyses.

Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry