Study of Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Rheumatic Disease Completed

Newswise — Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis experience more pregnancy complications and longer hospitalizations then do women in the general obstetric population, according to the first study of its kind presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, California.

Thanks to research and advancements, most women with lupus are no longer cautioned to avoid pregnancy and many carry their babies to full term. Women with rheumatoid arthritis are also counseled that pregnancy can be handled with attention to medication and physical therapies. However, to date, no nationwide study has compared the maternal and fetal outcomes of these pregnancies with that of the general obstetric population.

Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a nationally-recognized database of discharge records from representative U.S. hospitals, researchers estimated approximately 4.04 million deliveries in 2002. Of these, approximately 3,264 occurred in women with SLE and 1,425 in women with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers then compared these two groups' pregnancy outcomes and hospitalizations with that of the general obstetric population.

Patients with SLE had twice the rate of hypertensive disorders that women with rheumatoid arthritis faced, and both exceeded those occurrences in the general population. The two patient groups also had higher rates of intrauterine growth restriction and cesarean delivery.

"Women with either lupus and/or rheumatoid arthritis are typically somewhat older when they become pregnant," adds Eliza F. Chakravarty, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, and an investigator in the study. "However, even after adjusting for maternal age, they run a higher risk for adverse outcomes and generally experience longer hospital stays than other women. As a result, they should be monitored carefully for the length of their pregnancies."

The American College of Rheumatology is the professional organization for rheumatologists and health professionals who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability and curing arthritis and related rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. For more information on the ACR's annual meeting, see http://www.rheumatology.org/annual.