Meta-analysis
First trimester maternal infections and offspring congenital heart defects: a meta-analysis
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
- random-effects
Authors' conclusion
First-trimester maternal infections are associated with increased risk of offspring CHD and appear to extend beyond infections commonly tested for during routine pregnancy screening.
Study context
- Population
- Pregnancies; offspring congenital heart defects (CHD)
- Participants
- 1,732,295 pregnancies · 30 studies
- Comparison
- First-trimester maternal infection vs no infection
- Outcome
- Offspring CHD
Pooled result
Offspring CHD, any first-trimester infection
Odds ratio
1.63
95% CI 1.41–1.88
Any first-trimester infection vs No infection
OR 1.63 (95% CI 1.41–1.88)
As reported in the abstract
Further pooled results
| Outcome | OR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Offspring CHD by infection type — Rubella virus vs No infection | 2.78 (2.08–3.72) | |
| Offspring CHD by infection type — Coxsackievirus vs No infection | 1.57 (1.12–2.19) | |
| Offspring CHD by infection type — Respiratory infections vs No infection | 1.57 (1.25–1.96) | |
| Offspring CHD by infection type — Influenza vs No infection | 1.50 (1.20–1.87) | |
| CHD subtypes, any first-trimester infection — Any first-trimester infection vs No infection · ventricular septal defects | 1.59 (1.16–2.20) | |
| CHD subtypes, any first-trimester infection — Any first-trimester infection vs No infection · atrioventricular septal defects | 1.55 (1.21–1.99) | |
| 0.20.5125Odds ratio (log scale) |
- CHD subtypes, any first-trimester infection: subtype analyses relied on a comparatively modest number of cases
CHD subtypes, any first-trimester infection
- Not statistically significant for other subtypes
Original publication
First trimester maternal infections and offspring congenital heart defects: a meta-analysis. Eur Heart J. Published 29 August 2025. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf564
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it