Fatores de risco maternos para morte fetal: um estudo de casos e controles de base populacional

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the available epidemiological evidence of the effect of caffeine consumption during pregnancy on fetal mortality. A systematic qualitative review of observational studies that referred to any source of exposure to caffeine from food in pregnancy and to fetal mortality as the outcome was conducted at the electronic databases Medline and Lilacs. Studies published between January 1966 and September 2004 were searched. The following descriptors were used: caffeine , coffee , tea , cola and cacao to define the exposure and fetal death , stillbirth , fetal demise and fetal loss to define the outcome. A total of four publications were found. The small number of publications addressing this subject, methodological limitations, inaccurate exposure assessment in all the studies, overall risks only marginally significant in most cases and the possibility of publication bias prevent to state with certainty that caffeine consumption is actually associated with fetal death. Well-designed future research with further assessment of caffeine intake is needed to define the role of caffeine in fetal mortality.