SynthesisPloS one2021
Cervical length varies considering different populations and gestational outcomes: Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sleep and affect: A conceptual review.Sleep medicine reviews · 2022Pooled it
- A new perspective on predicting latency period in preterm premature rupture of membranes: the role of cervical area measurement.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Bed Rest versus Tocolytic Therapy in Threatened Preterm Labour Stratified by Cervical Length: A Randomised Controlled Trial.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Pessary for Prevention of Preterm Birth and Perinatal Mortality in Pregnancies with a Short Cervix: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Prognostic value of cervical length for spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic women with twin pregnancy: meta-analysis of individual participant data.BMJ medicine · 2025Article
- Cervical length evolution in pregnancy and prediction of preterm delivery.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2024Article
- How to screen the cervix and reduce the risk of spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic women without a prior preterm birth.Obstetrics & gynecology science · 2023Article
- Association between Sexual Activity during Pregnancy, Pre- and Early-Term Birth, and Vaginal Cytokine Inflammation: A Prospective Study of Black Women.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Study protocol to quantify the genetic architecture of sonographic cervical length and its relationship to spontaneous preterm birth.BMJ open · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe uterine cervical length is an important risk factor for preterm birth. The aim of this study was to assess cervical length distribution in women with singleton pregnancies, measured by transvaginal ultrasound between 16 and 24 weeks, and its association with population characteristics. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe searched electronic databases and other sources for studies published from April 1, 1990 to July 21, 2020. Of the 2019 retrieved publications, full-text versions of 137 articles were considered. We included 77 original articles that reported cervical length measurements of 363,431 women. The main aim of this study was to identify the pattern of cervical length in different populations. We collected demographic and clinical data concerning the population, in addition to information regarding the ultrasound examination and cervical length measurement. Regarding study bias, 56 were at low risk of bias and 21 were at medium risk of bias.
resultsThe meta-analysis included 57 articles with data from 158,346 women. The mean cervical length was 37.96. mm (95% CI [36.68, 39.24]). Cervical length was shorter in women from Africa and Asia, in those from low-income countries, with a lower body weight, and in those who delivered before 37 gestational weeks. We found that the cervical length from pooled studies is longer than that usually discussed in the literature. Regarding limitations, we had difficulty assessing our main variable because there was no consistent pattern in the way authors reported cervical length measurement. Another limitation was the great heterogeneity between studies.
conclusionsThe use of a single cutoff value to define a short cervix diagnosis, an important risk factor for preterm birth, may not be correct and cervical length must be considered according to maternal population characteristics. Future studies should identify different specific curves and cutoff values for cervical length in different populations. This meta-analysis was registered in the PROSPERO database under CRD42017070246 at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=70246.
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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.