Archive for December 12, 2009
Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy
Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy May Not Increase Asthma Risk in Offspring CME
CME Released: 12/03/2009; Valid for credit through 12/03/2010
December 3, 2009 — Acetaminophen use during pregnancy is not associated with increased risk for asthma in children, according to the results of a prospective study reported in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
“The relationship between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and asthma in children remains unclear and warrants further investigation, ” write Elizabeth M. Kang, MPH, from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues. “To identify risk factors for childhood asthma, we analyzed data from a prospective cohort study of women followed through their pregnancies and subsequent follow-up of their children at 6 years of age to investigate the etiology of childhood asthma. With detailed classification and comprehensive reporting of acetaminophen, we aimed to estimate the role of prenatal exposure to acetaminophen in the development of asthma in children.”
The study cohort consisted of 1505 pregnant women and their children. Follow-up continued until age 6 years ± 3 months. In the first and third trimesters, acetaminophen use was evaluated before 24 weeks of gestation and within 1 month of delivery. At age 6 years, children were evaluated for asthma, and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were derived from logistic regression models that adjusted for potential confounding variables.
During pregnancy, 69% of women used acetaminophen. Use of acetaminophen was not associated with a significantly increased risk for asthma in the offspring (aOR, 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53 – 1.10). For women who used acetaminophen during both the first and the third trimester, the risk for asthma was significantly reduced in the offspring (aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.36 – 0.98), with no apparent dose response. Acetaminophen consumption greater than 10,400 mg (32 tablets) per month was not associated with increased risk (aOR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.19 – 5.30).
“Our results suggest that acetaminophen use during pregnancy does not increase risk of asthma in children,” the study authors write.
Limitations of this study include lack of data on acetaminophen exposure during the second trimester, reliance on self-report for acetaminophen exposure and for asthma diagnoses, and failure to control for cotherapy.
“It may still be premature for public warnings of acetaminophen and increased risk of asthma,” the study authors conclude. “Acetaminophen is the drug of choice for pain relief during pregnancy and early childhood, and this study offers reassurance that antenatal acetaminophen has limited, if any, effects on asthma development in children.”
The National Institutes of Health supported this study. The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Obstet Gynecol. 2009;114:1295- 1306. Abstract.
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