SynthesisMolecular autism2021
Fever during pregnancy as a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders: results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Molecular autism, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 4 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.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does early pregnancy exposure to macrolide antibiotics lead to major birth defects? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Maternal paracetamol (acetaminophen) use during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring: umbrella review of systematic reviews.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Pooled it
- The association between maternal immune activation and brain structure and function in human offspring: a systematic review.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Early systemic inflammation induces neurodevelopmental disorders: results from ARTEMIS, a French multicenter study of juvenile rheumatisms and systemic autoimmune and auto-inflammatory disorders and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Prolactin receptor signalling contributes to the attenuation of stress-induced hyperthermia during pregnancy.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Article
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- Party identification and public attitudes toward raw milk, water fluoridation, and acetaminophen use.Health affairs scholar · 2026Article
- Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Statement: Acetaminophen use during pregnancy.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Acetaminophen in pregnancy.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026Article
- Emerging Discussions on Folinic Acid and Acetaminophen in Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- First-trimester nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs exposure and risk of major congenital malformations: A retrospective register-based cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Metabolomics Highlights Reduced Glutamate and Acetylcarnitine in the Amniotic Fluid of Cytomegalovirus-Infected Pregnant Women.Journal of proteome research · 2026Article
- Paracetamol in Pregnancy: Reassurance Amidst Uncertainty.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2026Article
- Individual and Combined Associations of Maternal Fever, Placental Inflammation, and Prematurity With Autism and ADHD.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Maternal infection - but not inflammation - is associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms during childhood: a population-based cohort study.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- Paracetamol exposure during pregnancy, the risk of major congenital malformations, and perinatal and postnatal outcomes: a population-based cohort study.Human reproduction open · 2026Article
- Fetal exposure to paracetamol is associated with altered markers of ovarian development and reduced uterine volume in girls: the COPANA study.Human reproduction open · 2026Article
- Teacher-reported kindergarten development among children exposed to prescription opioids during pregnancy.PloS one · 2026Article
- Predictive factors of comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in early systemic autoimmune and auto-inflammatory disorders.Pediatric rheumatology online journal · 2025Article
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 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFever during pregnancy is a relatively common and most often trivial event. However, under specific conditions, it could affect significantly fetal brain development. Few studies, with inconsistent results, investigated whether fever, regardless the pathogen, could represent a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) in the offspring. We aimed to explore further this question by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.
methodsPeer-reviewed studies exploring the occurrence of NDD in offspring after a fetal exposure to maternal fever were included. We specifically considered the impact of fever severity and duration, taking into consideration some confounding variables such as the use of antipyretic during pregnancy, the trimester in which the fever arose, the maternal age or smoking at time of gestation. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane and Web of Science were searched without language restriction. PRISMA recommendations were followed. Odds ratio (OR) were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity in effect size across studies was studied using random-effects meta-regression analysis. (PROSPERO CRD42020182801).
resultsWe finally considered ten studies gathering a total of 10,304 children with NDD. Among them, 1394 were exposed to fever during pregnancy. The selected studies were divided into 5 case-control studies and 5 cohort studies. Maternal exposure to fever during pregnancy increased the risk of NDD in offspring with an OR of 1.24 [95% CI: 1.12-1.38]. Secondary analysis revealed an increased risk for NDD when fever occurred during the first trimester of gestation [OR 1.13-95% CI: 1.02-1.26]. LIMITATIONS: We excluded studies that considered infections with no evidence of fever. Another potential limitation may be the possible heterogeneity between study designs (cohorts and case-control).
conclusionAdditional evidence supported the association between fever during pregnancy and increased risk for NDD in offspring. Careful monitoring should be considered for children born from mothers with a febrile episode during pregnancy (specifically during the first trimester).
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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.