Effect of Participating in a Study of Causes of Pregnancy Loss on Mental Health Outcomes: A Target Trial Emulation Using the COPL Cohort and Danish National Registries

NCT07684677 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 30000

Last updated 2026-07-06

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Pregnancy loss is the most common severe pregnancy complication and is associated with significant mental health sequelae, including depression and anxiety. Standard care in Denmark does not include systematic follow-up or aetiological investigation after pregnancy loss. The Copenhagen Odense Pregnancy Loss (COPL) Cohort offered extensive aetiological investigations, and a dedicated clinical follow-up visit 4-10 weeks post-loss. This is a target trial emulation (TTE) designed to estimate the causal effect of COPL participation on women's mental health outcomes one year after pregnancy loss. We will emulate a target trial comparing (1) enrolment into COPL versus (2) standard pregnancy loss care. The study population comprises women aged ≥18 years with a confirmed intrauterine pregnancy loss (ICD-10: DO020, DO021, DO030-DO034) before 22 weeks' gestation treated at Danish public hospitals between November 2020 and April 2025. The primary outcome is new-onset affective disorder (ICD-10: F32\*-F39\*), neurotic/stress-related disorder (F41\*, F43\*, F48\*), or dispensing of antidepressant (N06A\*), anxiolytic (N05B\*), or sedating (N05C\*) medication within 12 months of pregnancy loss diagnosis. All data will be sourced from Danish National Registries. The difference-in-differences estimator will serve as the primary analytical approach, complemented by instrumental variable analysis (hospital of treatment as instrument) and regression discontinuity design. Inverse probability of treatment weighting will be used to control for measured confounders. Results will be reported as risk ratios and risk differences with 95% confidence intervals. Sensitivity analyses will include per-protocol estimation and exclusion of women with treatable findings identified in COPL.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

COPL participation

Participation in the COPL cohort

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Amager Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Henriette Svarre Nielsen, Professor · Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-11-01
Primary Completion
2025-04-11
Completion
2027-04-11

Countries

  • Denmark

Study Locations

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Entities

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07684677 on ClinicalTrials.gov