The risks of statin use in pregnancy: A systematic review.

Statins are contraindicated in pregnancy; however, as women delay pregnancy and statin use increases the risk of statin exposure in pregnancy is likely to rise. In contrast to some early reports that statins are teratogenic, more recent observational studies have called into question the teratogenic risk of statins. Therefore, whether statins are associated with congenital anomalies or other pregnancy complications remains an important clinical question. This article provides an up-to-date systematic review on the risks of statins in pregnancy. We conducted a literature search to identify relevant English language studies related to statin exposure and pregnancy. Single case reports, animal studies, studies only published in abstract form, and non-English language studies were excluded. A total of 16 clinical studies were included in this systematic review. Although early uncontrolled case series reported congenital anomalies associated with statin use, more recent observational studies did not report an increased risk of congenital anomalies with statin exposure in pregnancy when compared to control groups or the prevalence of congenital anomalies in the general population. Our findings show no clear relationship of congenital anomalies with statin use in pregnancy, and our study supports the findings that statins are probably not teratogenic. However, until more information is available, statins should still be avoided in pregnancy.

Relations between subclinical disease markers and type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and incident cardiovascular disease: the Jackson Heart Study.

OBJECTIVE: The presence of subclinical disease measures has been directly associated with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in whites. African Americans (AAs) in the U.S. are at higher risk of CVD compared with non-Hispanic whites; however, data on the prevalence of subclinical disease measures in AAs and their association to CVD remain unclear and may explain the higher CVD risk in this group. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We evaluated 4,416 participants attending the first examination of the Jackson Heart Study (mean age 54 years; 64% women) with available subclinical disease measures. RESULTS: There were 1,155 participants (26%) with subclinical disease, defined as the presence of one or more of the following: peripheral arterial disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, microalbuminuria, high coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, and low left ventricular ejection fraction. In cross-sectional analyses using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression, participants with metabolic syndrome (MetS) or diabetes (DM) had higher odds of subclinical disease compared with those without MetS and DM (odds ratios 1.55 [95% CI 1.30-1.85] and 2.86 [95% CI 2.32-3.53], respectively). Furthermore, the presence of a high CAC score and left ventricular hypertrophy were directly associated with the incidence of CVD (265 events) in multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models (P < 0.05). In prospective analyses, having MetS or DM significantly increased the hazard of incident CVD, independent of the presence of subclinical disease (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In our community-based sample of AAs, we observed a moderately high prevalence of subclinical disease, which in turn translated into a greater risk of CVD, especially in people with MetS and DM.