Study selection
The database search yielded 3336 citations: PubMed (n=636), Embase
(n=1989), Cochrane Library (n= 621), clinicaltrials.gov (n=90). In
total, 667 were identical duplicates, and excluded. After abstract
assessment, 62 articles were extracted for full-text review. Ten
articles dropped out because they included normal pregnancies without
any risk factors, nor signs or symptoms that indicated placental
insufficiency.. One study was excluded because of wrong outcomes and
another was excluded due to lack of control group . Fourteen articles
were excluded because of publication type or study design. Studies
involving animals or human placenta were excluded, only clinical studies
were included. Due to a lack of standardization in studies investigating
biomolecular markers, those studies or results were excluded as well.
The selection process is illustrated in Figure 1. Ultimately, ten
studies were included in the analysis, with a total of 1391 pregnant
women. Of them, 703 (50.5%) were treated with pravastatin and 688
(49.5%) were not treated with statins. All ten studies described high
treatment adherence.