Illicit substance exposure in pregnancy and infant mortality risk: a nationwide Taiwan study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To investigate the association between prenatal illicit substance exposure and infant mortality, addressing the unclear links between specific and multiple substances and increased mortality.

Methods

This 16-year retrospective cohort study used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health dataset, and the Integrated Illegal Drug Database, including 1 937 301 pregnant women who delivered from 2004 to 2019. Among them, 11 477 used illicit drugs during pregnancy, with a matched control group of 45 908 non-users based on maternal age, income, and childbirth year. Of the drug users, 26.9% used multiple substances, primarily methamphetamine and opioids. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality within the first year of lif

SUBMITTER: Lin C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12343109 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature