OBJECTIVE: To examine whether pregnant women who used acetaminophen, a prostaglandinG2 synthase inhibitor, had an increased risk of preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, thromboembolic complications, or abruptio placentae.
METHODS: We selected 63,833 women participating in the Danish National Birth Cohort who gave birth to a live born singleton and had information on acetaminophen use during pregnancy reported by three interviews. Through linkage to the National Hospital Discharge Registry we obtained data from hospital diagnose of the outcomes we study.
RESULTS: Women who used acetaminophen during the third trimester of pregnancy had an increased risk of preeclampsia (adjusted relative risk RR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.24-1.58). The risk was higher among women who had early preeclampsia (before the 32nd gestational week) (RR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.12-1.93), severe preeclampsia (RR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.15-2.00), or chronic hypertension (RR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.13-1.83). Second and third trimester use was associated with an increased risk of pulmonary embolisms (RR = 3.02, 1.28-7.15) and deep vein thrombosis (RR = 2.15, 1.06-4.37), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Acetaminophen use during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of diseases in which a reduction of prostacyclin during pregnancy has been postulated to play a role, including preeclampsia and thromboembolic diseases.
