Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41720911›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

The association between early pregnancy infection with SARS-CoV-2 and fetal birth defects: a prospective study.

Jiaxin Luo, Peisen Liu, Pengxi Chen, Xia Zhou, Yueru Ma, Wenxiao Lin, Keying Lai, Jingyi Cui, Chunmei Mi, Xi Wu and 4 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Jiaxin Luo *Center for Medical Genetics, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Peisen Liu *Center for Medical Genetics, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Pengxi Chen *Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Xia ZhouXiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Yueru MaXiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Wenxiao LinXiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Keying LaiXiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Jingyi CuiDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.
Chunmei MiDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.
Xi WuDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.
Xiying YuanDepartment of Obstetrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Weilin KeDepartment of Obstetrics, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China. szkeweihengd@126.com.
Zhuo LiCenter for Medical Genetics, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China. lizhuo@sklmg.edu.cn.
Lingqian WuCenter for Medical Genetics, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China. wulingqian@sklmg.edu.cn.

Funding

Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China 82171711National Key Research and Development Program of China 2022YFC2703700the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China 2023JJ30725the Open Research Fund of Hainan Province Clinical Medical Center HNSZLAB202403the Open Research fund of Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control HPKL2023004
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This multicenter prospective cohort study investigated the association between maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in early pregnancy and birth defects. Although placental damage and fetal distress are known risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, evidence regarding the impact of first-trimester infection on congenital anomalies remains limited. In this study, we prospectively enrolled 1,127 first-trimester pregnant women from three hospitals in China (535 SARS-CoV-2-infected, 592 non-infected as controls). The clinical characteristics, symptoms and treatment of COVID-19, and corresponding infant outcomes were followed-up and analyzed. Among singleton pregnancies, the incidence of total birth defects was significantly higher in the infected group than in the control group (9.2% vs. 4.7%, p = 0.004). Among the various types of birth defects, such as urinary system defects, nervous system defects, chromosome abnormality, etc., cardiovascular system malformations were the most prominent(3.4% vs. 1.5%, p = 0.048). Multivariate analysis identified first-trimester SARS-CoV-2 infection(RR = 2.25, 95%CI 1.38–3.56; p = 0.001) and twin pregnancy(RR = 4.52, 95%CI 1.83–8.95; p = 0.002) as independent risk factors. These findings demonstrate that early pregnancy SARS-CoV-2 infection correlates with an increased risk of birth defects, underscoring the need for enhanced prenatal monitoring in exposed pregnancies. The results highlight the critical importance of viral exposure timing in congenital anomaly development and support further investigation into the underlying pathogenic mechanisms.

Indexed as

Congenital AbnormalitiesCOVID-19Pregnancy Complications, InfectiousAdultChinaFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornPregnancyPregnancy Trimester, FirstProspective StudiesRisk FactorsSARS-CoV-2Birth defectsEarly pregnancyRisk factorsSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID41720911
PMCPMC13022461

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.