The association between caffeine exposure during pregnancy and risk of gestational hypertension/preeclampsia: A meta‐analysis and systematical review

Abstract

The potential effect of caffeine exposure during pregnancy on gestational hypertension (GH)/preeclampsia has attracted attention but remains unclear. A systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases was performed until March 2022. Observational studies assessing the association between caffeine exposure during pregnancy and the risk of GH/preeclampsia were included. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO: CRD42022322387. Ten studies involving 114984 pregnant women (2548 diagnosed with GH and 2473 diagnosed with preeclampsia) were included. Comparing caffeine exposure with non-caffeine exposure, no signi cant association was found between caffeine exposure during pregnancy and the risk of GH (OR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.90-1.08, p = 0.800) and preeclampsia (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.97-1.31, p = 0.114). Subgroup analyses comparing low to moderate doses with no/lowest doses showed that caffeine exposure during pregnancy was not signi cant associated with GH (OR = 1.00, p = 0.987) or preeclampsia (OR = 1.03, p = 0.648). Besides, subgroup analyses comparing high doses with no/lowest doses showed that caffeine exposure during pregnancy was not signi cant associated with GH (OR = 1.06, p = 0.623) or preeclampsia (OR = 1.18, p = 0.192). This study found that caffeine exposure during pregnancy was not signi cantly associated with the risk of GH/preeclampsia. Furthermore, it is estimated that the latter complicates the pregnancy for about 3-5% of the women who give birth(5). The etiology and predictors of GH/preeclampsia remain unclear(6, 7).Important dietary sources of caffeine include coffee, tea, caffeinated soda (cola), energy drinks and other soft drinks(8, 9). Epidemiological evidence supports the bene ts of caffeine for some chronic diseases, stating that moderate caffeine consumption is safe, but noting that excessive consumption can have negative effects on children and pregnant women (10,11). WHO recommends that pregnant women consume no more than 300mg caffeine per day(12). Additionally, a review of caffeine consumption recommends that pregnant women consume no more than 2 cups of coffee or 4 cups of tea per day(10).Caffeine consumption is more common among women aged 20-50 years old(13), raising concerns about its potential effects on GH/preeclampsia. Nevertheless, observational studies on caffeine intake during pregnancy and the risk of GH/preeclampsia have yielded mixed results. Some papers displayed no relationship between caffeine intake during pregnancy and the risk of GH/preeclampsia(14, 15). Conversely, a nationwide birth cohort study by Kawanishi et al.( 16) reported that high dose of caffeine intake during pregnancy could increase the risk of GH/preeclampsia. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to discover the potential association between caffeine exposure during pregnancy and the risk of GH/preeclampsia. Methods Search strategyWe performed a systematic search on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to 11 March 2022. The search items included (1,...

The Association between Antenatal Tea Drinking and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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