Eligibility criteria
Eligible studies were those in which cardiovascular function had been assessed in humans who had been exposed to ACS during fetal life in comparison to those not receiving steroids, those receiving a placebo or population data. Studies not performed in humans or which did not assess cardiovascular function were excluded. Randomised trials and observational studies (cohort and case-control) were included, as were case series with n≥3. There is no accepted numerical definition of a case series13. We used an empirical cut-off of at least three cases however, because of the risk of publication bias with individual case reports. Systematic and narrative reviews were excluded after checking reference lists for primary studies. Publications from 1990 to January 2021 were considered eligible and no language restrictions were applied.