Preconception HBV history linked to congenital heart disease risk in offspring

Children born to mothers who had contracted hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection before pregnancy appear to be at increased risk of congenital heart diseases (CHDs), as reported in a study.

For this retrospective cohort study, researchers used data from the National Free Preconception Checkup Project (NFPCP), a national free health service for childbearing-aged women who plan to conceive throughout mainland China, and identified women aged 20–49 years who got pregnant within 1 year after preconception examination. Nearest-neighbor propensity score was applied to match women with preconception HBV infection, those with new HBV infection, and those who did not contract the infection.

The analysis involved 3,690,427 women, including 393,332 of with previous infection and 345,613 with new infection.

CHDs in offspring occurred in 0.03 percent of women uninfected with HBV preconception and those newly infected with HBV, and in 0.04 percent of women with HBV infection prior to pregnancy.

Multivariable regression analysis showed that HBV infection prior to pregnancy vs noninfection was associated with a higher risk of CHDs in offspring (adjusted relative risk ratio [aRR], 1.23, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.49).

Moreover, the incidence of CHDs in offspring was higher among couples where the woman was previously infected with HBV and the man was uninfected (0.037 percent) and couples where the woman was uninfected and the man was previously infected (0.045 percent) as compared with couples who were uninfected with HBV prior to pregnancy (0.026 percent; aRR, 1.36, 95 percent CI, 1.09–1.69; aRR, 1.51, 95 percent CI, 1.09–2.09).