ReviewEuropean journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology2020
Is pregnancy a risk factor of COVID-19?
Review in European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
65 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pregnancy and COVID-19: high or low risk of vertical transmission.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2023Pooled it
- The Vitamin D Serum Levels in Pregnant Women Affected by COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of heterologous COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2023Trial
- Associations between undernutrition and malaria infection: a case-control study from Rwanda.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Effect of COVID-19 Infection During Pregnancy on the Plasma/Extracellular Vesicles Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Profile.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2025Article
- Efficacy of vaccination during pregnancy in reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in infants younger than 12 months. Puglia (Italy), 2021-23.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Article
- Comprehensive assessment of COVID-19 case fatality rate and influential factors in Khuzestan Province, Iran: a two-year study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2024Article
- Comparative analysis of COVID-19 pneumonia in pregnant versus matched non-pregnant women: radiologic, laboratory, and clinical perspectives.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Retrospective Analysis of the Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) on Pregnancy and Neonatal Outcomes.Journal of pregnancy · 2024Article
- Pregnant women's perceptions on Information Sources on Zika Virus: a qualitative study.Physis (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) · 2024Article
- Characteristics and Outcomes of Coronavirus Disease- 2019 Among Pregnant Women in Saudi Arabia; a Retrospective Study.International journal of women's health · 2024Article
- Attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy and breastfeeding.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- COVID-19 and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Descriptive Study From a Tertiary Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.Obstetrics and gynecology international · 2024Article
- Article
- Critical care, maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19 admitted to eight intensive care units during the wildtype, alpha and delta waves of the pandemic across the North West of England-a retrospective review.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2023Article
- Maternal prenatal attachment during the COVID-19 pandemic: exploring the roles of pregnancy-related anxiety, risk perception, and well-being.Archives of women's mental health · 2023Article
- Article
- Fetal death as an outcome of acute respiratory distress in pregnancy, during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based cohort study in Bahia, Brazil.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Observational
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This review evaluates whether pregnancy is a risk factor for COVID-19 by looking at the expression of immune markers such as immune cells and cytokines in order to have a better understanding on the pathophysiology of the disease, thus reducing maternal deaths. Pregnant women are more at risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their weakened immune system. Studies demonstrate that COVID-19 is an immune condition which is marked by reduced lymphocytes and elevated selected proinflammatory cytokines. Similar immune expression has been demonstrated in pregnancy by several studies. In addition, the placenta has been shown to possess ACE2 receptors on the villous cytotrophoblast and the syncytiotrophoblast and findings suggest that the coronavirus enters the host cells via these ACE2 receptors. The immune response in pregnancy increases the risk of contracting COVID-19. Both normal pregnancy and COVID-19 are marked by decreased lymphocytes, NKG2A inhibitory receptors, and increased ACE2, IL-8, IL-10, and IP-10 it therefore safer to conclude that pregnancy is a risk factor for COVID-19 development. Furthermore, the presence of the ACE2 receptors in the placenta may increase the risk of mother to baby transmission of the virus. Therefore, more studies investigating the link between pregnancy and COVID-19 are 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.