For women who give birth, risk for incident systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease higher with infertility without fertility treatment
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For women who give birth, infertility without fertility treatment is associated with an increased risk for incident systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD), according to a study published online Dec. 4 in Human Reproduction.
Natalie V. Scime, Ph.D., from the University of Toronto Scarborough, and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study involving 568,053 singleton births among 465,078 women aged 18 to 50 years without known preexisting SARD to examine the association between infertility with or without fertility treatment and the incident onset of SARD. Follow-up was a median of 6.5 years.
The researchers found that the incidence rate of SARD was 9.3, 12.5, 10.9, and 10.9 per 10,000 person-years among women without infertility, in those with infertility and no fertility treatment, those who received noninvasive fertility treatment, and those who received invasive fertility treatment, respectively. Even after accounting for adverse pregnancy outcomes, infertility without treatment was associated with an elevated risk for SARD (controlled direct effect hazard ratio, 1.25). Associations were not seen for noninvasive or invasive fertility treatments with SARD.
“Greater health provider awareness of SARD symptoms and related gynecological issues that may present in women with infertility could facilitate earlier detection and treatment of SARD during the reproductive years,” the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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