SynthesisHypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979)2013
The risk of congenital malformations associated with exposure to β-blockers early in pregnancy: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 3 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
30 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 108 citations in OpenAlex.
- Maternal factors increase risk of orofacial cleft: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- Structural congenital anomalies in resource limited setting, 2023: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors of Congenital Anomalies: an Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Journal of Korean medical science · 2021Pooled it
- Explainable machine learning model for identifying key risk factors in congenital heart disease prediction using questionnaire data: a retrospective case-control study.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Article
- Management of uveitic and chorioretinal conditions in pregnancy.Eye (London, England) · 2026Review
- Genetic, Epigenetic, and Non-Genetic Factors in Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome: A Narrative Review.Genes · 2025Review
- Preliminary study of environmental risk and protective factors during pregnancy for cleft lip with or without palate in the Korean population.Korean journal of orthodontics · 2024Article
- Genetic Insights Into Perinatal Outcomes of Maternal Antihypertensive Therapy During Pregnancy.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Beta-Blockers and Their Current Role in Maternal and Neonatal Health: A Narrative Review of the Literature.Cureus · 2023Review
- Prevalence and associated factors of structural congenital anomalies in resource limited setting, 2023: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Review
- Long QT Syndrome Management during and after Pregnancy.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Review
- Using Twitter Data for Cohort Studies of Drug Safety in Pregnancy: Proof-of-concept With β-Blockers.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Pregnancy in Patients with Non-cirrhotic Portal Hypertension: A Literature Review.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2022Review
- Patterns of contraceptive use among young Australian women with chronic disease: findings from a prospective cohort study.Reproductive health · 2022Article
- Atrial fibrillation during pregnancy: a 9-month period with limited options.Herzschrittmachertherapie & Elektrophysiologie · 2021Review
- Medicines for headache before and during pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study (ATENA study).Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021Article
- [Environmental factors of non-syndromic cleft lip and palate].Hua xi kou qiang yi xue za zhi = Huaxi kouqiang yixue zazhi = West China journal of stomatology · 2019Article
- Pattern and risk factors of congenital anomalies in a pediatric university hospital, Alexandria, Egypt.The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association · 2019Article
- β-Blocker Use in Pregnancy and the Risk for Congenital Malformations: An International Cohort Study.Annals of internal medicine · 2018Observational
- Beta-Blocker Use in Pregnancy and Risk of Specific Congenital Anomalies: A European Case-Malformed Control Study.Drug safety · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
β-blockers are commonly used during the first trimester of pregnancy. Data about risks of congenital anomalies in offspring have not been summarized. We performed a meta-analysis to determine teratogenicity of β-blockers in early pregnancy. A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Clinical Trials, and hand search. Meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models based on odds ratios (ORs). Prespecified subgroup analyses were performed to explore heterogeneity. Randomized controlled trials or observational studies examining risks of congenital malformations associated with first trimester β-blocker exposure compared with no exposure were included. Thirteen population-based case-control or cohort studies were identified. Based on meta-analyses, first-trimester oral β-blocker use showed no increased odds of all or major congenital anomalies (OR=1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.10; 5 studies). However, in analyses examining organ-specific malformations, increased odds of cardiovascular defects (OR=2.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-3.42; 4 studies), cleft lip/palate (OR=3.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.79-5.43; 2 studies), and neural tube defects (OR=3.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-10.67; 2 studies) were observed. The effects on severe hypospadias were nonsignificant (1 study). Causality is difficult to interpret given the small number of heterogeneous studies and possibility of biases. Given the frequency of this exposure in pregnancy, further research is needed.
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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.