Importance: Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that poses serious maternal and infant health risks. Previous systematic reviews have established benefits of low-dose aspirin taken during pregnancy to prevent preeclampsia and its sequelae.
Objective: To update evidence for the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on effectiveness of aspirin use in preventing preeclampsia in individuals at increased risk based on clinical risk factors or measurements associated with higher disease incidence than in the general population.
Data sources: Studies from previous USPSTF review (2014), literature published January 2013 through May 15, 2020, in MEDLINE, PubMed (for publisher-supplied records only), EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Ongoing surveillance through January 22, 2021.
Study selection: Good- and fair-quality randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of low-dose aspirin use during pregnancy to prevent preeclampsia among individuals at increased risk; studies conducted in general populations to evaluate potential harms.
Data extraction and synthesis: Dual article screening and risk-of-bias assessment. Study data abstracted into prespecified forms, checked for accuracy. Random-effects meta-analysis.
Main outcomes and measures: Diagnosis of preeclampsia; adverse pregnancy health outcomes and complications including eclampsia, perinatal mortality, preterm birth, small for gestational age, and potential bleeding harms or infant/child harms from aspirin exposure.
Results: A total of 23 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) (N = 26 952) were included; 18 were conducted among participants at increased preeclampsia risk. Aspirin dosages ranged from 50 mg/d to 150 mg/d. Most trials enrolled majority White populations selected based on a range of risk factors. The incidence of preeclampsia among the trials of participants at increased risk ranged from 4% to 30%. Aspirin use was significantly associated with lower risk of preeclampsia (pooled relative risk [RR], 0.85 [95% CI, 0.75-0.95]; 16 RCTs [n = 14 093]; I2 = 0%), perinatal mortality (pooled RR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.66-0.96]; 11 RCTs [n = 13 860]; I2 = 0%), preterm birth (pooled RR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.67-0.95]; 13 RCTs [n = 13 619]; I2 = 49%), and intrauterine growth restriction (pooled RR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.68-0.99]; 16 RCTs [n = 14 385]; I2 = 41%). There were no significant associations of aspirin use with risk of postpartum hemorrhage (pooled RR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.94-1.12]; 9 RCTs [n = 23 133]; I2 = 0%) and other bleeding-related harms, or with rare perinatal or longer-term harms. Absolute risk reductions for preeclampsia associated with aspirin use ranged from -1% to -6% across larger trials (n >300) and were greater in smaller trials. For perinatal mortality, absolute risk reductions ranged from 0.5% to 1.1% in the 3 largest trials.
Conclusions and relevance: Daily low-dose aspirin during pregnancy was associated with lower risks of serious perinatal outcomes for individuals at increased risk for preeclampsia, without evident harms.