Clinical risk factors of adverse outcomes among women with COVID-19 in the pregnancy and postpartum period: a sequential, prospective meta-analysis

Emily R. Smith, Erin Oakley, Gargi Wable Grandner, Gordon Rukundo, Fouzia Farooq, Kacey Ferguson, Sasha Baumann, Kristina Maria Adams Waldorf, Yalda Afshar, Mia Ahlberg, Homa Ahmadzia, Victor Akelo, Grace Aldrovandi, Elisa Bevilacqua, Nabal Bracero, Justin S. Brandt, Natalie Broutet, Jorge Carrillo, Jeanne Conry, Erich CosmiFatima Crispi, Francesca Crovetto, Maria del Mar Gil, Camille Delgado-López, Hema Divakar, Amanda J. Driscoll, Guillaume Favre, Irene Fernandez Buhigas, Valerie Flaherman, Christopher Gale, Christine L. Godwin, Sami Gottlieb, Eduard Gratacós, Siran He, Olivia Hernandez, Stephanie Jones, Sheetal Joshi, Erkan Kalafat, Sammy Khagayi, Marian Knight, Karen L. Kotloff, Antonio Lanzone, Valentina Laurita Longo, Kirsty Le Doare, Christoph Lees, Ethan Litman, Erica M. Lokken, Shabir A. Madhi, Laura A. Magee, Raigam Jafet Martinez-Portilla, Torri D. Metz, Emily S. Miller, Deborah Money, Sakita Moungmaithong, Edward Mullins, Jean B. Nachega, Marta C. Nunes, Dickens Onyango, Alice Panchaud, Liona C. Poon, Daniel Raiten, Lesley Regan, Daljit Sahota, Allie Sakowicz, Jose Sanin-Blair, Olof Stephansson, Marleen Temmerman, Anna Thorson, Soe Soe Thwin, Beth A. Tippett Barr, Jorge E. Tolosa, Niyazi Tug, Miguel Valencia-Prado, Silvia Visentin, Peter von Dadelszen, Clare Whitehead, Mollie Wood, Huixia Yang, Rebecca Zavala, James M. Tielsch

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

65 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: This sequential, prospective meta-analysis sought to identify risk factors among pregnant and postpartum women with COVID-19 for adverse outcomes related to disease severity, maternal morbidities, neonatal mortality and morbidity, and adverse birth outcomes. Data Sources: We prospectively invited study investigators to join the sequential, prospective meta-analysis via professional research networks beginning in March 2020. Study Eligibility Criteria: Eligible studies included those recruiting at least 25 consecutive cases of COVID-19 in pregnancy within a defined catchment area. Methods: We included individual patient data from 21 participating studies. Data quality was assessed, and harmonized variables for risk factors and outcomes were constructed. Duplicate cases were removed. Pooled estimates for the absolute and relative risk of adverse outcomes comparing those with and without each risk factor were generated using a 2-stage meta-analysis. Results: We collected data from 33 countries and territories, including 21,977 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy or postpartum. We found that women with comorbidities (preexisting diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease) vs those without were at higher risk for COVID-19 severity and adverse pregnancy outcomes (fetal death, preterm birth, low birthweight). Participants with COVID-19 and HIV were 1.74 times (95% confidence interval, 1.12–2.71) more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit. Pregnant women who were underweight before pregnancy were at higher risk of intensive care unit admission (relative risk, 5.53; 95% confidence interval, 2.27–13.44), ventilation (relative risk, 9.36; 95% confidence interval, 3.87–22.63), and pregnancy-related death (relative risk, 14.10; 95% confidence interval, 2.83–70.36). Prepregnancy obesity was also a risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes including intensive care unit admission (relative risk, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.26–2.60), ventilation (relative risk, 2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.20–3.51), any critical care (relative risk, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.28–2.77), and pneumonia (relative risk, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.18–2.33). Anemic pregnant women with COVID-19 also had increased risk of intensive care unit admission (relative risk, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–2.11) and death (relative risk, 2.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.15–4.81). Conclusion: We found that pregnant women with comorbidities including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease were at increased risk for severe COVID-19–related outcomes, maternal morbidities, and adverse birth outcomes. We also identified several less commonly known risk factors, including HIV infection, prepregnancy underweight, and anemia. Although pregnant women are already considered a high-risk population, special priority for prevention and treatment should be given to pregnant women with these additional risk factors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)161-177
Number of pages17
JournalAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Volume228
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2023

Keywords

  • COVID-2019
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • maternal mortality
  • neonatal mortality
  • pneumonia
  • pregnancy
  • preterm birth
  • small-for-gestational-age

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