Birth Outcomes of Children Born to Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

AIM The aim of the study was to estimate the possible risk of adverse birth outcomes of children born to mothers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS The dataset of large population-based Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities from 1980-1996 was evaluated including 22,843 cases with congenital abnormalities and 38,151 matched controls without any defect. RESULTS 36 cases (0.16%) had mothers with RA, while 68 controls (0.18%) were born to mothers without RA (OR=0.9, 95% CI=0.3-1.6). A higher risk for congenital abnormalities in the offspring of pregnant women with RA was not found. In fact there was a larger mean birth weight in the newborns without any defect of mothers with RA and it was associated with a somewhat lower rate of low birth weight. CONCLUSIONS RA seems to have a beneficial effect not only for pregnant women but for their foetuses as well.