Association of maternal chronic inflammatory arthritis and offspring health

Maternal autoimmune diseases confer higher risk of adverse pregnancy, birth and offspring neurodevelopmental outcomes. This includes women with rheumatoid arthritis , axial spondyloathritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis - together called chronic inflammatory arthritis (CIA). There is evidence that high CIA disease activity is associated with preterm births and smaller for gestational age infants, however it is unclear if adherence to pregnancy-compatible anti-rheumatic therapy at any trimester during pregnancy improves pregnancy outcomes.

Dr. Chock will investigate if adherence to antirheumatic drugs during pregnancy, lessens the risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes among women with CIA. The proposed project will harness the strengths of Danish medical registries and US health administrative databases to address this important clinical question.