COVID-19 Infection, Vaccination Not Linked to Congenital Anomalies

FRIDAY, July 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 infection and vaccination during the first trimester of pregnancy are not associated with congenital anomalies, according to a study published online July 17 in The BMJ.

Maria C. Magnus, Ph.D., from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study of 343,066 live-born singletons in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway to examine the risk for major congenital anomalies according to infection with and vaccination against COVID-19 during the first trimester.

The researchers found that 5.2 percent of the infants had a major congenital anomaly. When examining risk relating to COVID-19 infection during the first trimester, the adjusted odds ratios (95 percent confidence intervals) varied from 0.84 (0.51 to 1.40) to 1.12 (0.68 to 1.84) for eye anomalies and oro-facial clefts, respectively. The risk relating to COVID-19 vaccination during the first trimester varied from 0.84 (0.31 to 2.31) to 1.69 (0.76 to 3.78) for nervous system anomalies and abdominal wall defects, respectively. For 10 of 11 subgroups of anomalies, estimates were less than 1.04, indicating no notable increase in risk.

"We did not find any evidence of an increased risk of congenital anomalies after COVID-19 infection, but newer variants were not included," the authors write. "However, current knowledge is in line with the new viral variants becoming less harmful."

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