Increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with rheumatoid arthritis: a nationwide population-based study

Objective Using a 3-year nationwide population-based database (2001-3), this study aims to examine the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods The study used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Dataset and birth certificate registry. In total, 1912 mothers with RA and 9560 matched comparison mothers were included. Separate conditional logistic regression analyses were carried out to explore the risk of low birthweight (LBW), preterm births, small for gestational age (SGA) infants, preeclampsia and delivery mode (vaginal vs caesarean section (CS)) for the study and comparison groups. Results Regression analyses showed that the adjusted odds of LBW, SGA infants, preeclampsia and CS for women with RA were 1.47 (95% CI 1.22 to 1.78), 1.20 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.38), 2.22 (95% CI 1.59 to 3.11) and 1.19 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.31) times, respectively, that of comparison mothers. Conclusion Women with RA had an increased risk of LBW, SGA babies, preeclampsia and CS compared with unaffected women.