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New research · Ophthalmology
Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 4d
Cross-sectionalAddiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026

Prenatal opioid exposure, and health, social and educational outcomes for school-aged children: A systematic review.

Louise Marryat, Dawood Gashgari, Shona Shinwell … Alison McFadden
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OphthalmologyCross-sectional

Prenatal opioid exposure is associated with poorer visual outcomes in school-aged children

Prenatal opioid exposure, and health, social and educational outcomes for school-aged children: A systematic review.

Louise Marryat … Alison McFadden
Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026
Background

Recent decades have seen a rise in the number of pregnancies exposed to opioids.

Purpose

This systematic review aimed to examine comprehensively the evidence of the association between prenatal exposure to illicit opioids or medication for opioid use disorder (medication for opioid use disorder) and school-age health, social and educational outcomes.

Methods

Risk of bias was assessed using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies - of Exposure (ROBINS-E) Tool.

n = 272 controls
4/4
Results
4/4
eye and vision problems checked in kids were more common with exposure
n = 272 controls
More results

Thirty-two papers comprising 16 studies were identified.

Quality was mixed: 17/32 papers had high/very high risk of bias, primarily stemming from longitudinal attrition and lack of controlling for confounding.

Five very high risk papers were excluded, leaving 27 included papers.

More results

Papers spanned 10 countries, primarily in North America, Australasia and Europe.

“
Conclusion · 1 of 2

Prenatal opioid exposure through illicit opioids or medication for opioid use disorder is associated with visual outcomes, hyperactivity and inattention and cognitive functioning at 5-18 years.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Almost all research focusses on 5-12 years, with little evidence available for adolescents.

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