SynthesisScandinavian journal of work, environment & health2013
Miscarriage and occupational activity: a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding shift work, working hours, lifting, standing, and physical workload.
Synthesis in Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical job demands in pregnancy and associated musculoskeletal health and employment outcomes: a systematic review.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2024Pooled it
- Pregnancy, obstetrical and neonatal outcomes in women exposed to physician-related occupational hazards: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Psychosocial work exposures and health outcomes: a meta-review of 72 literature reviews with meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Systematic review of interventions targeting sickness absence among pregnant women in healthcare settings and workplaces.BMJ open · 2018Pooled it
- Pregnancy and patient safety: an overlooked dimension of medical practice.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Article
- Associations Between Late-Night Shift Work and Perinatal Outcomes: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study Using JACSIS and JASTIS Data.The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research · 2026Article
- Development of a quantitative job exposure matrix for standing, walking, and forward bending among pregnant workers - The PRECISE JEM.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2025Article
- Longer commute time is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage: a mixed-effects longitudinal study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Is Sitting Really the New Smoking? Health of North American Workers Exposed to Prolonged Static Standing.New solutions : a journal of environmental and occupational health policy : NS · 2025Article
- Ultimate Context of the Termination of Parental Investment.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- BMAL1 Regulates Collagen Production in the Myometrium and Leiomyomas.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025Article
- Maternal Melatonin Contributes to Offspring Hair Follicle Development Through Transcriptional Regulation of the AP-1 Complex and MAPK Pathway.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Occupational Physical Activity Among Pregnant Employees in the Danish Workforce: The PRECISE Occupational Cohort Profile.Clinical epidemiology · 2025Article
- Association of Working Status with Clinical Pregnancy and Miscarriage among Women undergoingInternational journal of fertility & sterility · 2024Article
- Article
- Lifestyle and sociodemographic risk factors for stillbirth by region of residence in South Australia: a retrospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Preconception sleep duration, non-daytime work schedules, and incidence of spontaneous abortion: a prospective cohort study.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Reproductive outcomes among female health care workers.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Impact of maternal posture on fetal physiology in human pregnancy: a narrative review.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePrevious studies have indicated that shift work, long working hours, and prevalent workplace exposures such as lifting, standing, and physical workload increase the risk of miscarriage, but the evidence is conflicting. We conducted a systematic review of original research reports.
methodsA search in Medline and EMBASE 1966-2012 identified 30 primary papers reporting the relative risk (RR) of miscarriage according to ≥1 of 5 occupational activities of interest. Following an assessment of completeness of reporting, confounding, and bias, each risk estimate was characterized as more or less likely to be biased. Studies with equivalent measures of exposure were pooled to obtain a weighted common risk estimate. Sensitivity analyses excluded studies most likely to be biased.
resultsWorking fixed nights was associated with a moderately increased risk of miscarriage (pooled RR 1.51 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.27-1.78, N=5), while working in 3-shift schedules, working for 40-52 hours weekly, lifting >100 kg/day, standing >6-8 hours/day and physical workload were associated with small risk increments, with the pooled RR ranging from 1.12 (3-shift schedule, N=7) to 1.36 (working hours, N=10). RR for working hours and standing became smaller when analyses were restricted to higher quality studies.
conclusionsThese largely reassuring findings do not provide a strong case for mandatory restrictions in relation to shift work, long working hours, occupational lifting, standing, and physical workload. Considering the limited evidence base, however, it may be prudent to advise women against work entailing high levels of these exposures and women with at-risk pregnancies should receive tailored individual counseling.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.