GLP1 Drugs Not Tied to Pregnancy Loss or Birth Defects
TOPLINE:
One of the first studies of its kind finds that inadvertent exposure during early pregnancy to glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs) is not associated with major birth defects or pregnancy loss.
METHODOLOGY:
- This study was a multicentre prospective cohort study of three groups of pregnant women who contacted, or whose physician contacted, any of six European or UK Teratology Information Services between 2009 and 2022:
- The main outcomes were the risk for major birth defects, live births, pregnancy losses, and pregnancy terminations.
TAKEAWAY:
- GLP1-RA drugs were not associated with major birth defects in comparison to the diabetic reference group (2.6% vs 2.3%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.16-5.82) or the overweight/obese reference group (2.6% vs 3.9%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.11-2.75).
- There were similar rates across groups of crude live births, pregnancy losses, and pregnancy terminations.
- Further analysis using cause-specific hazard models found no increased risk for pregnancy loss in the GLP1-RA group vs the two reference groups.
IN PRACTICE:
The authors predicted that “…[a] growing number of women of reproductive age will be treated with GLP1-RA. Approximately 50% of pregnancies worldwide are unplanned.”
The authors concluded, “The study offers further reassurance in cases of inadvertent exposure to GLP1-RA during the first trimester of pregnancy. Documentation and follow-up of these pregnancies are important to allow for further studies on a broader scale.”
SOURCE:
The corresponding author is Ursula Winterfeld of the Swiss Teratogen Information Service and the University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. The study appeared in BMJ Open.
LIMITATIONS:
Study limitations included its observational design and limited sample sizes.
DISCLOSURES:
The study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. None of the authors reported a competing interest.
