Table 2

Reported pregnancy histories at the time of survey among women who had ever been pregnant


Ever pregnant women with SLE (n = 97)
Ever pregnant women without SLE (n = 184)
P valuea

Total number of reported pregnancies per woman


0.50
     1
13 (13%)
20 (11%)

     2
20 (21%)
36 (20%)

     3
21 (22%)
47 (26%)

     4
19 (20%)
29 (16%)

     5
10 (10%)
23 (13%)

     ≥ 6
14 (14%)
29 (15%)

Mean (standard deviation) number of pregnancies
3.7 (2.0)
3.7 (2.4)

Mean (standard deviation) age at first pregnancy (years)
22.1 (4.8)
22.5 (4.8)
0.55
Ever had a live birth – total number of live births reported per woman


0.12
     0
7 (7%)
2 (1%)

     1
20 (21%)
34 (18%)

     2
22 (23%)
40 (22%)

     3
24 (25%)
51 (28%)

     4
11 (11%)
25 (14%)

     ≥ 5
13 (13%)
32 (17%)

Median (P5–P95)b live births
2.5 (0–5)
3 (1–5)

Ever miscarried – total number of miscarriagesc reported per woman


0.07
     0
51 (53%)
125 (68%)

     1
30 (31%)
35 (19%)

     2
11 (11%)
15 (8%)

     ≥ 3
5 (5%)
9 (5%)

Median (P5–P95)b miscarriagesc
0.5 (0–3)
0 (0–3)

Ever had a stillbirth – total number of stillbirths reported per woman


0.01
     0
86 (89%)
175 (95%)

     1
7 (7%)
9 (5%)

     ≥ 2
4 (4%)
0

Median (P5–P95)b stillbirths
0 (0–1.25)
0 (0–0.75)

Ever had an ectopic pregnancy


0.17
     0
92 (95%)
180 (98%)

     1
5 (5%)
3 (2%)

     ≥ 2
0
1 (0.5%)

Median (P5–P95)b ectopic
0 (0–1)
0 (0–0)

Women with a SLE diagnosis only



First pregnancy before SLE diagnosis
78 (80%)
-
-
First pregnancy after SLE diagnosis
19 (20%)


Age (years) at first pregnancy



     Mean (standard deviation) age at first pregnancy if before SLE diagnosis
22.1 (4.6)
-
-
     Mean (standard deviation) age at first pregnancy if after SLE diagnosis
26.6 (7.0)


Number of reported pregnancies per woman



     Mean (standard deviation) pregnancies whose first conception was before SLE diagnosis
3.7 (2.1)
-
-
     Mean (standard deviation) pregnancies whose first conception was after SLE diagnosis
3.6 (2.7)



aFrom chi-squared test for heterogeneity, detecting differences between women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and those without SLE. bFifth to 95th centiles – the central 90% of the distribution. c Includes missed abortions (missed miscarriages) and blighted ova.

Molokhia et al. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2007 9:R124   doi:10.1186/ar2332