Abstract :
Keywords Prenatal opioid exposure; Methadone; Buprenorphine; Memory; Opioid maintenance therapy; Cognitive development Highlights * Prenatal opioid exposure was associated with lower memory performance. * Memory performance was associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy. * Pregnant women in OMT should be offered to participate in smoking cessation programs. Abstract Background The potential long-term developmental effects of prenatal methadone and buprenorphine exposure during pregnancy are still largely unknown. Aims We investigated memory function in school-aged children of women enrolled in opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) during pregnancy. Study design Prospective longitudinal cohort study. Subjects Participants included 41 children (aged 9--11 years), 20 of which had histories of prenatal methadone or buprenorphine exposure. Outcome measures Verbal and non-verbal memory function was assessed using four subtests from the Test of Memory and Learning - Second edition (TOMAL-2). Results The OMT group scored lower on both the two non-verbal as well as the two verbal memory tasks, all p-values Conclusions Children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine had significantly lower memory performance, however, this association may in part be explained by maternal tobacco use during pregnancy. Consequently, smoking cessation programs should be systematically integrated into opioid maintenance therapy programs for pregnant women. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Psychology, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer, Norway (b) Cognitive Developmental Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (c) Oslo University Hospital, Child- and Adolescents Mental Health, Oslo, Norway * Corresponding author at: P.O Box 400, 2418 Elverum, Norway. Article History: Received 29 November 2021; Revised 16 June 2022; Accepted 16 June 2022 Byline: C. Konijnenberg [carolien.konijnenberg@inn.no] (a,b,*), A. Melinder (b,c)