Infertility and Autoimmune Disease Risk After Childbirth
Author Information
Author(s): Scime Natalie V, Velez Maria P, Choi May Y, Ray Joel G, Boblitz Alexa, Brown Hilary K
Primary Institution: University of Toronto Scarborough
Hypothesis
What is the association between infertility with or without fertility treatment and incident onset of systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD) among women who give birth?
Conclusion
Women who experienced infertility but did not use fertility treatment had a higher incidence of SARD up to 9 years after delivery than those who did not experience infertility.
Supporting Evidence
- Women with infertility without treatment had an incidence rate of 12.5 per 10,000 person-years for SARD.
- The study followed women for a median of 6.5 years after childbirth.
- Infertility with treatment did not show a significant association with SARD incidence.
Takeaway
If a woman has trouble getting pregnant and doesn't get treatment, she might be more likely to get a disease that affects her immune system later on.
Methodology
This study used linked administrative data for all of Ontario, Canada, from 2012 to 2021, analyzing 568,053 singleton births among women aged 18-50 years without known pre-existing SARD.
Potential Biases
Potential misclassification of infertility status and lack of data on underlying causes of infertility may introduce bias.
Limitations
Exposure and outcome misclassification is possible, and data on individual-level social and lifestyle factors were not available.
Participant Demographics
Women aged 18-50 years who gave birth in Ontario, Canada.
Statistical Information
P-Value
1.25
Confidence Interval
1.12–1.40
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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