Abstract
Previous work has suggested that prior poor reproductive outcome may be a risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A case-control study of 195 women with RA and 462 control women from two different sources is presented here. No increase in rates of spontaneous abortion was seen in the women with RA; indeed a protective effect was seen with an age adjusted odds ratio of 0.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.4 to 0.9). A non-significant increase in stillbirth rates was seen in women with RA, producing an age adjusted odds ratio of 1.5 (95% CI 0.7 to 3.4). No differences in rates of induced abortion were seen. Thus although hormonal and gynaecological factors are undoubtedly important in the aetiology of RA, it was not possible to confirm that prior poor reproductive outcome is a risk factor in RA.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Ericson A., Källén B. An epidemiological study of work with video screens and pregnancy outcome: II. A case-control study. Am J Ind Med. 1986;9(5):459–475. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700090507. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- KAY A., BACH F. SUBFERTILITY BEFORE AND AFTER THE DEVELOPMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN WOMEN. Ann Rheum Dis. 1965 Mar;24:169–173. doi: 10.1136/ard.24.2.169. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kaplan D. Fetal wastage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol. 1986 Oct;13(5):875–877. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Linos A., Worthington J. W., O'Fallon W. M., Kurland L. T. The epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis in Rochester, Minnesota: a study of incidence, prevalence, and mortality. Am J Epidemiol. 1980 Jan;111(1):87–98. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112878. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Persellin R. H. The effect of pregnancy on rheumatoid arthritis. Bull Rheum Dis. 1976;27(9):922–927. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rudge S. R., Kowanko I. C., Drury P. L. Menstrual cyclicity of finger joint size and grip strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1983 Aug;42(4):425–430. doi: 10.1136/ard.42.4.425. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Silman A. J. Is pregnancy a risk factor in the causation of rheumatoid arthritis? Ann Rheum Dis. 1986 Dec;45(12):1031–1034. doi: 10.1136/ard.45.12.1031. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Silman A. J., Roman E., Beral V., Brown A. Adverse reproductive outcomes in women who subsequently develop rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1988 Dec;47(12):979–981. doi: 10.1136/ard.47.12.979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tilley B. C., Barnes A. B., Bergstralh E., Labarthe D., Noller K. L., Colton T., Adam E. A comparison of pregnancy history recall and medical records. Implications for retrospective studies. Am J Epidemiol. 1985 Feb;121(2):269–281. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113997. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]