Women with rheumatoid arthritis are more often diagnosed with unexplained subfertility, compared with women in the general population, according to a new study published in Arthritis Care & Research.
This finding may imply that fertility in female RA patients is influenced by disease-related factors, specifically the use of periconceptional NSAIDs, according to the investigators.
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In addition, when women with RA try to conceive, their antirheumatic treatment regimens need to be adjusted, which increases risk for permanent joint damage, the investigators wrote, adding that “understanding the underlying mechanisms of subfertility in RA, and treatment of these mechanisms whenever possible, would be an important step forward in the care for these patients.”
To study the outcome of fertility assessments in women with RA and subfertility, Dr. Brouwer and her associates performed a cross-sectional study of 260 female RA patients who were recruited from the Pregnancy-induced Amelioration of RA study, a Dutch nationwide prospective observational trial of women diagnosed with RA who were in their first trimester of pregnancy or who were trying to conceive.
Each eligible participant received a questionnaire that included questions regarding reproductive history, time to pregnancy, mode of conception for prior pregnancies, fertility assessments, and fertility treatments. For the 178 (68%) women who returned completed questionnaires, additional gynecologic histories and diagnoses were collected from medical histories and/or patient files.
Analysis of these data revealed that 82 women (46%; 95% confidence interval, 39%-53%) with RA were considered subfertile. Subfertility was most often unexplained (48% of known diagnoses) or caused by anovulation (28%) or semen abnormalities (16%).
“In comparison to the general population, female RA patients appear to be more often diagnosed with unexplained subfertility, whereas the percentage of subfertile women with anovulation was equal or slightly increased compared to percentages found in the general population,” the investigators wrote.
The majority of subfertile RA patients received fertility treatments, and “a considerable number of all pregnancies were conceived after women had been treated for subfertility,” according to the researchers.
Denise Fulton/Frontline Medical News
The significant association between periconceptional NSAIDs use and unexplained subfertility “is in concordance with a previous study within the PARA cohort where we have shown that a longer [time to pregnancy] was associated with the periconceptional use of NSAIDs,” Dr. Brouwer and her associates wrote.
“In daily practice, when an RA patient wishes to conceive, NSAIDs should be avoided, and early consultation with an expert rheumatologist and a fertility specialist should be considered to optimize the patient’s chance of a complete family,” the investigators recommended.
This study was funded by the Dutch Arthritis Foundation. One investigator reported received financial compensation from UCB Pharma; the other investigators reported having no relevant disclosures.
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