SynthesisBMJ open2023
Prevalence of polypharmacy in pregnancy: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Estimating the Prevalence of Prescribed Medication Use in Pregnancy with a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Drug safety · 2026Pooled it
- Sterol pathway disruption in pregnancy: a link to autism.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Sterol biosynthesis, brain development, and disease.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Review
- Exposure to nitrosatable drugs during pregnancy and childhood cancer: A cohort study in Taiwan.International journal of cancer · 2026Article
- Prescribed medicines among pregnant women attending health facilities in Eritrea: patterns, safety, and determinants.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Article
- Predicting DDI-induced pregnancy and neonatal ADRs using sparse PCA and stacking ensemble approach.Journal of integrative bioinformatics · 2025Article
- Maternal Demographic Patterns in Medication use During Pregnancy: A Nationwide Register Study.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- Medication prescribing and pregnancy-related risk factors for women with type 2 diabetes of reproductive age within primary care: a cross-sectional investigation for the PREPARED study.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2025Article
- Communicating medication risks in pregnancy: Towards shared decision making.Frontiers in drug safety and regulation · 2025Article
- Article
- The use, perceptions and knowledge of safety of over-the-counter medications during pregnancy in a Canadian population.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe use of medications among pregnant women has been rising over the past few decades but the reporting of polypharmacy has been sporadic. The objective of this review is to identify literature reporting the prevalence of polypharmacy among pregnant women, the prevalence of multimorbidity in women taking multiple medications in pregnancy and associated effects on maternal and offspring outcomes.
designMEDLINE and Embase were searched from their inception to 14 September 2021 for interventional trials, observational studies and systematic reviews reporting on the prevalence of polypharmacy or the use of multiple medications in pregnancy were included.Data on prevalence of polypharmacy, prevalence of multimorbidity, combinations of medications and pregnancy and offspring outcomes were extracted. A descriptive analysis was performed.
resultsFourteen studies met the review criteria. The prevalence of women being prescribed two or more medications during pregnancy ranged from 4.9% (4.3%-5.5%) to 62.4% (61.3%-63.5%), with a median of 22.5%. For the first trimester, prevalence ranged from 4.9% (4.7%-5.14%) to 33.7% (32.2%-35.1%). No study reported on the prevalence of multimorbidity, or associated pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to polypharmacy.
conclusionThere is a significant burden of polypharmacy among pregnant women. There is a need for evidence on the combinations of medications prescribed in pregnancy, how this specifically affects women with multiple long-term conditions and the associated benefits and harms. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Our systematic review shows significant burden of polypharmacy in pregnancy but outcomes for women and offspring are unknown. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021223966.
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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.