Prenatal Exposure to Methamphetamine and Its Association With Birth Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: The growing prevalence of methamphetamine abuse has been regarded as a matter of great concern due to its damaging impact on public health worldwide. Our study aimed to perform a systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis to evaluate the association between prenatal methamphetamine exposure, Preterm Birth (PTB) Low Birth Weight (LBW), and being Small for Gestational Age (SGA). Later on, we investigated the association between prenatal methamphetamine use and the aforementioned birth defects.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic search of English-language articles in Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed from inception to December 24, 2021, identifying 1223 observational studies. After removing duplicates, 911 articles remained for title and abstract screening, of which 868 were excluded. Following a full-text review of 43 studies, 35 were excluded due to insufficient data, leaving eight studies for meta-analysis. Data were analyzed using Stata 15.0, with Odds Ratio (OR) (95% Confidence Intervals (CI)) as effect sizes. Subgroup analysis was performed by sample type (urine, meconium, and …), and heterogeneity was assessed using the Chi-square test (I2 more than 50% was considered heterogenic), applying fixed- or random-effects models accordingly. Publication bias was evaluated via Egger's test and funnel plots, and sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess result robustness.

RESULTS

Prenatal exposure to methamphetamine was found to be associated with PTB (OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.89-3.70), LBW (OR 2.83; 95% CI 1.09-7.38), and SGA (OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.04-1.99).

CONCLUSION

Our meta-analysis shows a substantial association between prenatal exposure to methamphetamine and PTB, LBW, and being SGA.