ArticlePloS one2021
RETRACTED: Preterm birth is not associated with asymptomatic/mild SARS-CoV-2 infection per se: Pre-pregnancy state is what matters.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Cited by 7 papers, 2 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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Preeclampsia and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection: a systematic review.Journal of hypertension · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Preterm Birth and SARS-CoV-2: Does a Correlation Exist?Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Retraction: Preterm birth is not associated with asymptomatic/mild SARS-CoV-2 infection per se: Pre-pregnancy state is what matters.PloS one · 2025Article
- Delivery outcomes in a cohort of pregnant patients with COVID-19 with and without viral pneumonia.American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Seroconversion and Pregnancy Outcomes in a Population of Pregnant Women Recruited in Milan, Italy, between April 2020 and October 2020.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- COVID-19 Infection in Pregnancy: Obstetrical Risk Factors and Neonatal Outcomes-A Monocentric, Single-Cohort Study.Vaccines · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Retraction · 2025-12-18Compromised Peer Review · Concerns/Issues about Article · Concerns/Issues about Peer Review · Investigation by Journal/Publisher · Objections by Author(s) ·
- Retracted
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Evidence for the real impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on preterm birth is unclear, as available series report composite pregnancy outcomes and/or do not stratify patients according to disease severity. The purpose of the research was to determine the real impact of asymptomatic/mild SARS-CoV-2 infection on preterm birth not due to maternal respiratory failure. This case-control study involved women admitted to Sant Anna Hospital, Turin, for delivery between 20 September 2020 and 9 January 2021. The cumulative incidence of Coronavirus disease-19 was compared between preterm birth (case group, n = 102) and full-term delivery (control group, n = 127). Only women with spontaneous or medically-indicated preterm birth because of placental vascular malperfusion (pregnancy-related hypertension and its complications) were included. Current or past SARS-CoV-2 infection was determined by nasopharyngeal swab testing and detection of IgM/IgG antibodies in blood samples. A significant difference in the cumulative incidence of Coronavirus disease-19 between the case (21/102, 20.5%) and the control group (32/127, 25.1%) (P= 0.50) was not observed, although the case group was burdened by a higher prevalence of three known risk factors (body mass index > 24.9, asthma, chronic hypertension) for severe Coronavirus disease-19. Logistic regression analysis showed that asymptomatic/mild SARS-CoV-2 infection was not an independent predictor of spontaneous and medically-indicated preterm birth due to pregnancy-related hypertension and its complications (0.77; 95% confidence interval, 0.41-1.43). Pregnant patients without comorbidities need to be reassured that asymptomatic/mild SARS-CoV-2 infection does not increase the risk of preterm delivery. Preterm birth and severe Coronavirus disease-19 share common risk factors (i.e., body mass index > 24.9, asthma, chronic hypertension), which may explain the high rate of indicated preterm birth due to maternal conditions reported in the literature.
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Registered trials
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