Key clinical point: The risk for preterm birth (PTB) and small for gestational age (SGA) is almost 2-fold higher in pregnant women with vs. without rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with high maternal RA disease activity during pregnancy being a significant risk factor.
Major finding: The risk for PTB (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.92; 95% CI 1.56-2.35) and SGA (aOR 1.93; 95% CI 1.45-2.57) was significantly higher in RA pregnancies vs. control pregnancies, with the risk even higher with maternal Disease Activity Score in 28 joints-C-reactive protein of >4.1 vs. <3.2 during pregnancy (PTB: aOR 3.38; 95% CI 1.52-7.55; SGA: aOR 3.90; 95% CI 1.46-10.4).
Study details: This was a prospective cohort study of 1,739 RA-pregnancies matched with 17,390 control-pregnancies.
Disclosures: This study was supported by NordForsk and others. Some of the authors declared receiving consultancy fees, research grants, and serving on the steering committee for various sources.
Source: Hellgren K et al. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021;keab894 (Dec 3). Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab894 .