Table 1.
Subjects` Characteristics and Results of Our Case-Control Study
| SLE N (%) | Controls N (%) | p-Value | OR | CI 95% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 108 | 134 | |||
| Age (years) | 42 ± 1 | 38 ± 1 | 0.37 | ||
| Disease Duration (years) | 15 ± 1 | ||||
| Educational level High school Above high school |
52 (48) 56 (52) |
26 (19) 108 (81) |
0.0001 |
0.26 |
2.18-6.83 |
| Marital Status Never married Married,Living Common-law, Widowed Separated, Divorced, Remarried |
15 (14) 77 (71) 6 (15) |
25 (19) 84 (62) 25 (19) |
0.36 |
||
| Work experience Homemaker Working/Student |
21 (21) 81 (79) |
11 (9) 115 (91) |
0.01 |
2.7 | 1.24-5.93 |
| Ever pregnant | 83 (77) | 93 (69) | 0.15 | 1.5 | 0.85-2.73 |
| Symptoms before last pregnancy Yes No Unknown |
25 (30) 55 (66) 3 (4) |
||||
| DM | 4 (4) | 2 (1.5) | 0.28 | ||
| Hypertension | 23 (22) | 18 (13) | 0.10 | 1.76 | 0.90-3.48 |
| Thyroid Problems | 23 (21) | 14 (10) | 0.02 | 2.32 | 1.13-4.77 |
| Other Medical Problems | 57 (54) | 57 (43) | 0.09 | 1.55 | 0.93-2.59 |
| Onset of menarche (years) | 12.6 ± 0.1 | 12.2 ± 0.2 | 0.07 | ||
| Menopausal | 40 (38) | 32 (24) | 0.02 | 1.93 | 1.11-3.38 |
| Age at menopause * | 42 ± 1 | 43 ± 2 | 0.37 | ||
| Hysterectomy causing menopause in above group (%) | 21 (47) | 12 (39) | 0.29 | 1.39 | 0.55-3.51 |
| Hormone replacement therapy (ever used during menopause) | 29 (66) | 14 (47) | 0.10 | 2.21 | 0.85-5.71 |
| Irregular periods in non-menopausal | 10 of 44 (22) | 5 of 29 (17) | 0.57 | 1.4 | 0.43-4.7 |
| Mean age at 1st pregnancy (years) | 23 ± 1 | 24 ± 1 | 0.06 | ||
| Number of pregnancies per woman | 2.3 ± 0.2 | 1.8 ± 0.1 | 0.17 | ||
| Number of children | 2.33 ± 0.1 | 2.05 ± 0.1 | 0.72 | ||
| Had child (ren) (% out of those pregnant) | 78 (93) | 89 (95) | 0.60 | ||
| No children | 5 (5) | 4 (5) | 0.74 | ||
| Miscarriage (at least one) | 26 (31) | 28 (30) | 0.86 | 0.94 | 0.50-1.79 |
| Therapeutic abortion | 7 (8) | 8 (8) | 0.53 | 1.03 | 0.36-2.99 |
| Ever had a stillborn child | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0.22 | ||
| Neonatal death (<3 months) | 4 (5) | 1 (1) | 0.13 | ||
| At least one preterm birth | 20 (24) | 5 (5) | 0.0008 | 8.32 | 3.06-22.66 |
| Gestational Diabetes | 7 (9) | 5 (5) | 0.42 | 1.62 | 0.49-5.33 |
| High blood pressure / Toxemia during pregnancy | 23 (28) | 20 (22) | 0.36 | 1.38 | 0.69-2.75 |
| Smoked during pregnancy | 35 (42) | 22 (24) | 0.009 | 2.35 | 1.23-4.49 |
| Alcohol during pregnancy | 5 (6) | 10 (11) | 0.26 | 0.53 | 0.17-1.62 |
| Other health problems during pregnancy | 30 (37) | 24 (26) | 0.11 | 1.69 | 0.89-3.23 |
| SLE flare during pregnancy | 10 (18) | As defined by patients | |||
| SLE improved during pregnancy | 10 (18) | ||||
| Contraception use (ever, any, including OCP) | 96 (89) | 128 (96) | 0.03 | 0.31 | 0.11-0.92 |
| OCP use | 66 (49) | 47 (44) | 0.38 | 0.8 | 0.48-1.32 |
| Duration of OCP use (mean ± SEM in months) | 56 ± 5.7 | 72 ± 5.5 | 0.0001 | 0.58-0.65 | |
| Tubal Ligation | 33 (32) | 30 (23) | 0.11 | 1.60 | 0.89-2.85 |
| At least 6 months of infertility | 32 (33) | 41 (32) | 0.88 | 1.04 | 0.59-1.83 |
| Unable to have children because of infertility | 18 (19) | 30 (24) | 0.38 | 0.75 | 0.39-1.44 |
| Ever taken fertility medications | 5 (5) | 5 (4) | 0.73 | 1.25 | 0.35-4.44 |
| Infertility problems – partner Yes No Not known |
5 (5) 63 (64) 31 (31) |
6 (5) 74 (59) 45 (36) |
0.76 |
0.98 |
0.29-3.36 |
Results are given in % or mean ± SEM, unless indicated otherwise.
OR= odds ratios: SLE vs controls
OCP= oral contraceptive pills
*
Most were not menopausal, so age should increase over time