No association detected between triptan use in pregnancy and neurological disorders in children

A large-scale study by researchers in Norway and Italy indicates that pregnant women who take triptans—drugs used to treat migraines and cluster headaches—do not have an increased likelihood of having a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Margherita Camanni and colleagues analyzed data on 26,210 pregnancies involving mothers with migraines. Of this number, 4,929 of the mothers did not take triptans during the year before they became pregnant, and 21,281 took triptans either alone or combined with other drugs. The researchers divided the latter group into four categories: discontinuers before pregnancy, discontinuers early in pregnancy, discontinuers late in pregnancy with moderate use, and discontinuers late in pregnancy with high use.

Following up on the women’s children for up to 14 years, the researchers found that the odds of children being diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder were only slightly higher for women using triptans compared to women who were nonmedicated. When they adjusted for a variety of factors that could affect the odds for neurodevelopmental disorders, they found no increase for triptan-exposed children.

The researchers conclude, “Our findings indicate that prenatal exposure to triptans, alone or combined with other migraine medications, does not substantially increase the risk of a broad range of neurodevelopmental outcomes in children up to adolescence.”

Citations

“Association of prenatal exposure to triptans, alone or combined with other migraine medications, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring,” Margherita Camanni, Marleen M.H.J. van Gelder, Anna Cantarutti, Hedvig Nordeng, and Angela Lupattelli, Neurology, June 24, 2025. Address: Hedvig Nordeng, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, PharmacoEpidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group, University of Oslo, Norway, [email protected].

—and—

“Good news for people who take migraine drugs before or during pregnancy: No increase in autism, ADHD, other disorders,” news release, American Academy of Neurology, May 21, 2025.