Systemic Sclerosis: Exploring the Potential Interplay Between Thyroid Disorders and Pregnancy Outcome in an Italian Cohort

Evidence has shown that pregnancy failure (PF) in women with systemic sclerosis (SSc) consists mainly of preterm delivery (PD) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Thyroid dysfunction (TD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) represent a common feature of SSc. Since TD has been associated wi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Israel Medical Association journal 2017-08, Vol.19 (8), p.473-477
Main Authors: Triggianese, Paola, Conigliaro, Paola, Chimenti, Maria, Barbato, Carmen, Greco, Elisabetta, Kroegler, Barbara, De Carolis, Caterina, Perricone, Roberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion, Habitual - etiology
Cohort Studies
Female
Fetal Death - etiology
Humans
Italy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications - etiology
Pregnancy Outcome
Scleroderma, Systemic - complications
Thyroid Diseases - complications
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Evidence has shown that pregnancy failure (PF) in women with systemic sclerosis (SSc) consists mainly of preterm delivery (PD) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Thyroid dysfunction (TD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) represent a common feature of SSc. Since TD has been associated with PF, its presence in SSc women may potentially affect pregnancy outcome. To analyze the interplay between TD and PF in a cohort of SSc women. SSc women (n=77) and age-matched controls from the general obstetric population (n=50) were included. Clinical/biochemical/instrumental data exploring TD and the visceral involvement were collected in the context of a clinical practice setting. Pregnancy outcome was assessed by registering the history of primary infertility, recurrent spontaneous abortion, PD (≤ 37 gestational week), IUGR, and intrauterine fetal death. A higher prevalence of PD/IUGR was recorded in the SSc cohort than the controls (P = 0.04). SSc women with PF showed a higher prevalence of diffuse SSc than women without PF (P = 0.03). Scl-70 positive SSc women had a higher prevalence of PF than women with anti-centromere positivity (P = 0.01). A higher prevalence of HT was recorded in SSc women with PF than in patients without (P = 0.04). Our findings support the evidence that women with SSc can have successful pregnancies despite a higher prevalence of PD/IUGR. Diffuse SSc and Scl-70 positivity may predispose SSc women to PF. Routine thyroid workup may be included in the multi-specialist monitoring of SSc women for the early detection of thyroid dysfunctions.
ISSN:1565-1088