Inhaled Corticosteroids Use Is Not Associated With an Increased Risk of Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Two Nested Case-Control Studies

There have been concerns that systemic corticosteroid use is associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and diabetes mellitus. However, the relationship between inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) and the risk of PIH has not been fully examined, and there was no study investigating the association between ICS use and the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The aims of the study are to determine whether the use of ICSs during pregnancy increases the risk of PIH and GDM in women. We conducted 2 nested case-control studies utilizing the nationwide insurance claims database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (Seoul, Republic of Korea), in which 1,306,281 pregnant women who delivered between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011 were included. Among them, PIH cases and GDM cases were identified and matched controls were included. Conditional logistic regression analyses adjusted by other concomitant drugs use during and before pregnancy and confounding covariates including comorbidities were performed. Total 43,908 PIH cases and 219,534 controls, and 34,190 GDM cases and 170,934 control subjects were identified. When other concomitant drugs use during pregnancy was adjusted, ICS use was associated with an increased rate of PIH (adjusted odds ratio, 1.40 [95% CI, 1.05–1.87]). ICS medication possession ratios and cumulative doses were associated with an increased risk of PIH. However, the statistical significance was not found in other models. In both unadjusted and adjusted multivariable models, ICSs use was not associated with increase in the risk of GDM. ICSs use is not associated with an increased risk of PIH and GDM.