Fetal toxicity associated with statins: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2021

Amir Vahedian-Azimi, and Somayeh Makvandi, and Maciej Banach, and Željko Reiner, and Amirhossein Sahebkar
Trauma Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Statins are the drugs of choice for decreasing elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Based mostly on animal studies and case reports, they are forbidden to pregnant women and in the preconception period because of their possible teratogenic effects, for which causality has never been proven. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing studies and to perform a meta-analysis on this topic. The databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched since the inception until May 16, 2020. The risk of bias for each clinical trial was evaluated using the Cochrane handbook criteria for systematic reviews. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) quality assessment tool was used for the evaluation of cohort and cross-sectional studies. Meta-analysis was performed on the extracted data. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 measure and Cochrane's Q statistic. We calculated a pooled estimate of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a random-effects model. 23 studies (nine cohort studies, six case reports, six case series, one population-based case-referent study and one clinical trial) with 1,276,973 participants were included in the systematic review and 6 of them (n = 1,267,240 participants) were included in meta-analysis. The results of the critical review did not suggest a clear-cut answer to the question whether statin treatment during pregnancy is associated with an increased rate of birth defects or not, while the results of the meta-analysis indicated that statin use does not increase birth defects [OR (95%CI): 1.48 (0.90, 2.42), p = 0.509], including cardiac anomalies [2.53 (0.81, 7.93), p = 0.112] and other congenital anomalies [1.19 (0.70, 2.03), p = 0.509)]. We observed no significant increase of birth defects after statin therapy. Thus, there is still no undoubtful evidence that statin treatment during pregnancy is teratogenic, and this issue still needs to be investigated, especially there are more and more pregnant women at high CVD risk that could have benefited from the statin therapy.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008078 Cholesterol, LDL Cholesterol which is contained in or bound to low density lipoproteins (LDL), including CHOLESTEROL ESTERS and free cholesterol. LDL Cholesterol,Cholesteryl Linoleate, LDL,LDL Cholesteryl Linoleate,Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol,beta-Lipoprotein Cholesterol,Cholesterol, beta-Lipoprotein,beta Lipoprotein Cholesterol
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D002784 Cholesterol The principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils. Epicholesterol
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D015331 Cohort Studies Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics. Birth Cohort Studies,Birth Cohort Study,Closed Cohort Studies,Cohort Analysis,Concurrent Studies,Historical Cohort Studies,Incidence Studies,Analysis, Cohort,Cohort Studies, Closed,Cohort Studies, Historical,Studies, Closed Cohort,Studies, Concurrent,Studies, Historical Cohort,Analyses, Cohort,Closed Cohort Study,Cohort Analyses,Cohort Studies, Birth,Cohort Study,Cohort Study, Birth,Cohort Study, Closed,Cohort Study, Historical,Concurrent Study,Historical Cohort Study,Incidence Study,Studies, Birth Cohort,Studies, Cohort,Studies, Incidence,Study, Birth Cohort,Study, Closed Cohort,Study, Cohort,Study, Concurrent,Study, Historical Cohort,Study, Incidence
D019161 Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors Compounds that inhibit HYDROXYMETHYLGLUTARYL COA REDUCTASES. They have been shown to directly lower CHOLESTEROL synthesis. HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor,HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors,Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitor,Statin,Statins, HMG-CoA,Inhibitors, HMG-CoA Reductase,Inhibitors, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA,Inhibitors, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-Coenzyme A,Statins,HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitor,HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitors,HMG-CoA Statins,Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductase Inhibitor,Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductase Inhibitors,Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Inhibitors,Hydroxymethylglutaryl-Coenzyme A Inhibitors,Inhibitors, HMG CoA Reductase,Inhibitors, Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA,Inhibitors, Hydroxymethylglutaryl Coenzyme A,Inhibitors, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase,Reductase Inhibitor, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA,Reductase Inhibitors, HMG-CoA,Reductase Inhibitors, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA,Statins, HMG CoA

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