Background@#To determine the
risk of
pregnancy complications and adverse offspring outcomes in Korean
women with
rheumatic diseases (RDs). @*
Methods@#
Women aged 20–44 years with
pregnancies ending in delivery were identified from the
National Health Insurance Service-National
Health Information Database (2009–2016).
Women with RD including
systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), seropositive
rheumatoid arthritis (SPRA), and
ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (n = 4,284) were age-matched with controls (n = 26,023). Outcome variables included
threatened abortion (TA),
preterm birth (PB),
preeclampsia/
eclampsia (PE/E),
intrauterine growth retardation (IGR),
urinary tract infection,
low birth weight (LBW) offsprings, and offspring
death within 1 year of
birth. @*Results@#
Women with RDs had increased
risks for
cesarean section delivery (
odds ratio [OR], 1.5; 95%
confidence interval [CI], 1.4–1.6), TA (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2–1.5), PB (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.9–3.2), PE/E (OR, 4.4; 95% CI, 3.3–5.9), and IGR (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 2.0–3.1) than the controls. The
risk of
pregnancy complications was increased in SLE and SPRA
pregnancies but not in AS
pregnancies. Offsprings of
women with RDs had an increased
risk of LBW (OR, 4.0; 95% CI, 3.2–4.9). The offspring mortality rate within 1 year of
birth was higher in
women with RDs (6.2/10,000
persons) than in the controls (4.9/10,000
persons). @*Conclusion@#
Women with RDs are at a
risk of developing
pregnancy complications, and the
risk of LBW offsprings and offspring
death within 1 year of
birth is increased in these
women.Therefore, this
population requires special
attention during their childbearing years.