Risk of preterm birth in mothers with rheumatoid arthritis

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1. Rheumatoid Arthritis Overview

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly recognizes and attacks normal tissues in the body. This leads to inflammation in the joints and clinical symptoms such as swelling, heat, redness, and pain. Patients may also feel tired and stiff after staying in the same position or having prolonged stiffness in the morning. The disease affects each patient differently to varying degrees. Some people with the disease only have symptoms in the joints that progress slowly over many years, others can happen more quickly and cause many complications.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects joints symmetrically, usually in both hands, wrists and knees. This feature helps distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other inflammatory diseases. Over time, rheumatoid arthritis can also cause complications in different organs such as the heart, lungs, skin, eyes, and blood vessels.

The cause of the disease is not exactly understood. Factors that play a role in triggering the immune system to attack joints and other organs are thought to be bacteria, viruses, and cigarette smoke. Some specific genes increase the risk of the disease, many people in the family can have rheumatoid arthritis, but this is not an inherited disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis can affect everyone. Statistics show that about 1% of the US population has the disease. The incidence is 2 to 3 times higher in women than in men, however, rheumatoid arthritis occurs in men tend to have more severe manifestations. The average age of onset is about 40 to 60 years, and children and the elderly can also present.
Diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis requires a combination of many different factors. The doctor needs to follow up, perform a clinical examination and prescribe subclinical tests, and take X-rays of the damaged joints. Some of the tests commonly performed in rheumatoid arthritis are complete blood count, inflammatory protein C, anti-CCP antibody targeting, rheumatoid factor.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that cannot be completely cured because there is no specific treatment. The main treatment goals are to relieve symptoms and improve the patient's quality of life with medication, proper rest, exercise, and surgery, in some cases. The choice of treatment depends on your age, general condition, history, and severity of the disease.

2. Rheumatoid arthritis in pregnant women and the risk of premature birth

Pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk of preterm birth compared with other women. This is the result of a study conducted on 2 million babies born in Denmark between 1977 and 2008. Of these, more than 13,500 pregnancies had mothers with rheumatoid arthritis before pregnancy or were diagnosed with the disease. after birth. The study results showed a significant difference between the different groups of subjects. Pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis are 1.5 times more likely to give birth prematurely than those without the disease. Those diagnosed after birth have a 1.3 times higher rate. Research also shows that there is a relationship between the rate of low birth weight babies and the group of people who are diagnosed with the disease before and after birth. However, it should be noted that, this study only has a role to show the link between the risk of preterm birth and rheumatoid arthritis, not being able to prove that rheumatoid arthritis is the cause of preterm birth.
The effect on the fetus in the womb can come from the pathological mechanism of rheumatoid arthritis or from drugs to treat the disease. These factors change the environment inside the uterus and affect the development of the fetus.
Obstetricians and gynecologists should be aware of the risk of preterm birth in pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis to advise patients on what to know before pregnancy, the management and monitoring of pregnancy. Careful preparation plays a decisive role in the safety of the mother and the health of the child.

Vinmec International General Hospital is a modern medical facility with the function of examining and treating musculoskeletal, immuno-allergic, and obstetric diseases. At Vinmec, there are all necessary medical equipment to perform simple to complex treatment methods such as medical treatment, medical intervention. Accordingly, the entire examination and treatment process at Vinmec is carried out by a team of highly qualified medical professionals who have undergone training and are granted technical certificates, able to handle quickly and effectively. , especially in cases of urgent need. Therefore, patients with musculoskeletal diseases or pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis or many other diseases can rest assured with a strict, methodical and effective treatment process at the clinic. Vinmec.
Especially, now to improve service quality, Vinmec continues to deploy a package maternity service, this service was born as a solution to help pregnant women feel secure because of the companionship of the team. doctors throughout pregnancy from care, monitoring, comprehensive examination, ultrasound testing and health advice for pregnant women on how to develop a healthy fetus. Accordingly, pregnant women with a history of medical conditions during pregnancy will also be closely monitored by specialized doctors and treated appropriately according to their disease status.

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Reference source: medicalnewstoday.com, webmd.com