Systemic Sclerosis Increases Pregnancy Risks, Swedish Study Reveals
Stockholm, sweden – Women diagnosed with systemic sclerosis (SSc) face significantly elevated risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preeclampsia adn preterm birth, according to a comprehensive Swedish cohort study. The findings underscore the critical need for enhanced maternal care and pre-pregnancy counseling for individuals with this autoimmune condition.
The population-based study, drawing on Swedish national health registers from 1987 to 2021, meticulously analyzed pregnancy outcomes in women with and without SSc. Researchers classified pregnancies based on thier timing relative to an SSc diagnosis, examining those occurring before and after the condition was identified.
The study identified 972 pregnancies in women with SSc, with 94 occurring after diagnosis and 878 before. These were carefully matched with comparator pregnancies in women without SSc.
key findings from the research indicate a heightened risk profile for pregnant women with SSc:
Post-diagnosis pregnancies were associated with substantially increased risks for preeclampsia (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 3.8), preterm birth (aRR 3.3), and cesarean delivery (aRR 2.5).
Primiparous women (those experiencing their first pregnancy) with SSc exhibited particularly alarming risks, with a 7.5-fold increase for preeclampsia and a 5.1-fold increase for preterm birth.
Pregnancies occurring within 0-3 years before an SSc diagnosis showed increased odds of preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.6) and delivering babies small for their gestational age (aOR 4.1).
Even pregnancies occurring more than 3 years prior to an SSc diagnosis were linked to increased odds of preeclampsia (aOR 1.9) and preterm birth (aOR 1.6).
“Our observations highlight the need for multidisciplinary maternal care and pre-pregnancy counseling also for today’s women with SSc, with a special focus on primiparous women for whom the risks are the highest,” the study’s authors stated.
The research,led by Weng lan Che,PhD,from the Clinical Epidemiology Division at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm,was published online on July 8,2025,in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
While the study provides valuable insights,its limitations include a lack of detailed information on disease activity,specific serologic patterns,and treatment regimens.
The study received support from the Dr Margaretha Nilsson Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, and the Swedish Cancer Foundation. Disclosure statements from authors indicated affiliations with the Myositis Association and the Swedish Medical Products Agency.
This article was developed with the assistance of editorial tools, including AI, and underwent thorough review by human editors prior to publication.