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A large Danish study found a slight uptick in psychotropic medication use in the first year after a first-trimester abortion — but it didn't hold up after statistical correction. In fact, more than five years post-abortion, women were less likely to start psychotropic meds. The findings, published in JAMA Psychiatry, suggest no meaningful long-term psychiatric risk tied to elective abortion.
A population-based cohort study published in JAMA Psychiatry examined whether first-trimester medication or procedural abortions were associated with increased psychotropic medication use. While researchers initially spotted a small uptick in new psychotropic prescriptions in the first year post-abortion, that association lost statistical significance after applying a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.
The study followed over 67,000 Danish women (mean age 21.8 years) from 2000 to 2018, comparing psychotropic medication redemption rates before and after abortion. Notably, more than five years after the procedure, women showed a decreased risk of starting psychotropic medications — a finding that did hold up statistically.
Key Takeaways:
Why it matters: This study adds important nuance to ongoing debates about abortion and mental health. The data do not support a causal link between elective first-trimester abortion and long-term psychiatric harm, which has direct implications for patient counseling.
