Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lambe, M.
Right arrow Articles by Cooper, G. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lambe, M.
Right arrow Articles by Cooper, G. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Am J Epidemiol 2004; 159:162-166.
Copyright © 2004 by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Childbearing and the Risk of Scleroderma: A Population-based Study in Sweden

Mats Lambe1, Lena Björnådal2, Petra Neregård2, Olof Nyren1 and Glinda S. Cooper3 

1 Department of Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
2 Department of Rheumatology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
3 Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Durham, NC.

This study examined associations between childbearing and risk of scleroderma by using national population-based registry data from Sweden. Women with a discharge diagnosis of scleroderma from 1964 to 1999 (n = 2,149) were identified in the Swedish Inpatient Register. These cases were matched by year and month of birth and region of residence to as many as five controls obtained from the Multi-Generation Register. Pregnancy history (number of births, age at each birth) was restricted to births before the first scleroderma-related hospitalization for cases and the corresponding age for their matched controls. Risk estimates, measured by the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval, were obtained by using conditional logistic regression. Nulliparity was associated with an increased risk of scleroderma (odds ratio = 1.37, 95% confidence interval: 1.22, 1.55). Risk decreased with increasing number of births. Similar results were found when analyses were limited to births up to 2 years or up to 5 years before hospitalization. Among parous women, younger age at first birth was associated with an increased risk of scleroderma. The association between lower parity and increased risk of scleroderma could reflect subfecundity caused by scleroderma before disease became clinically evident, possible common causes of infertility and scleroderma, or a protective effect of pregnancy through an unknown mechanism.

maternal-fetal exchange; parity; pregnancy; scleroderma, systemic

Abbreviations: Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; ICD, International Classification of Diseases; OR, odds ratio.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 The Journal of RheumatologyHome page
G. S. COOPER
Unraveling the Etiology of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases: Peering into the Preclinical Phase of Disease
J Rheumatol, September 1, 2009; 36(9): 1853 - 1855.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.