Congenital defects and early childhood outcomes following in-utero exposure to antihypertensive medication

Catherine A Fitton, Michael Fleming, Lorna Aucott, Jill P Pell, Daniel F Mackay, James S McLay* (Corresponding Author)

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are an important risk to mother and fetus, frequently necessitating antihypertensive treatment. Data describing the safety of in-utero exposure to antihypertensive treatment is conflicting with many studies suffering from significant methodological issues.

METHOD: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked routinely collected healthcare records for 268 711 children born 2010-2014 in Scotland to assess outcomes following in-utero exposure to antihypertensive medication.

RESULTS: We identified a cohort of 265 488 eligible mother-child pairs born over the study period; of which, 2433 were exposed in utero to antihypertensive medication, 4391 exposed to treated late-onset hypertension and 6066 exposed to untreated hypertension during pregnancy. In-utero antihypertensive exposure was associated with an increased risk of circulatory defects (aOR 2.29; 99% CI 1.14-4.59) compared with normal controls and the untreated hypertensive group. We report no increased odds of any developmental outcomes at 2.5 years of age following exposure to antihypertensive medication during pregnancy, untreated hypertension or late-onset hypertension.

CONCLUSION: Although circulatory defects may be associated with antihypertensive medication exposure during pregnancy, the mechanisms underlying this process are unclear.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)581-588
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Hypertension
Volume39
Issue number3
Early online date9 Oct 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge the support from the Farr Institute @ Scotland. The Farr Institute @ Scotland is supported by a 10-funder consortium: Arthritis Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Health Research, the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (Welsh Assembly Government), the Chief Scientist Office (Scottish Government Health Directorates), the Wellcome Trust, (MRC Grant No: MR/K007017/1).

Funding Information:
Sources of funding: Funding provided by the FARR Institute at Scotland. The Farr Institute @ Scotland is supported by a 10-funder consortium: Arthritis Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Health Research, the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (Welsh Assembly Government), the Chief Scientist Office (Scottish Government Health Directorates), the Wellcome Trust (MRC Grant No: MR/K007017/1).

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • antihypertensive therapy
  • child development
  • congenital defects
  • hypertension

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