Statin Use in Pregnancy and Risk of Congenital Malformations

Statins have traditionally been contraindicated during pregnancy because of concerns about teratogenic effects seen in animal studies, but the actual risk in human pregnancies remains unclear. Now, using national registry data from Norway, researchers have evaluated statin exposure and congenital malformations in more than 800,000 pregnancies. Pregnancies were classified as exposed if a statin prescription was filled during the first trimester, previously exposed if a prescription was filled in the year before pregnancy but not during the first trimester, or nonexposed if a prescription was not filled during either interval.