Maternal Interleukin-17 and disease activity influence pregnancy outcomes in women with psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed in this study to evaluate the impact of maternal interleukin -17A and the activity of the illness on pregnancy outcomes in Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. METHODS: This prospective cohort research was carried out on 48 Psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis pregnant women attending the inpatient and outpatient clinics of the Rheumatology & Rehabilitation and Obstetrics & Gynecology Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University Hospitals in Egypt and 30 apparently healthy age- and sex-matched pregnant women between January 1,2018, and December 31, 2019. RESULTS: The study group patients had a higher risk of preterm labour (32-36 weeks gestation) (aRR 1.80, 95% CI 0.79-4.17), oligohydramnios (aRR 3.15, 95% CI 1.26-8.42), Caesarean delivery (aRR 1.57, 95% CI 1.41-2.68), and delivering infants small for gestational age (aRR 7.04, 95% CI 2.36-12.42). There was significant difference between the control group and the study groups regarding the level of IL-17A. CONCLUSION: Many females with PsA and AS have uninhibited pregnancy with regard to adverse events, but in comparison with normal pregnancies particularly with high IL-17A during the third trimester we noticed a growing risk of preterm labour, oligohydramnios and cesarean section. Further studies are needed to evaluate high maternal IL-17A levels and fetal outcomes.

Maternal cytokines and disease severity influence pregnancy outcomes in women with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of maternal cytokine levels, disease activity and severity on preterm delivery, small for gestational age (SGA) and cesarean delivery in pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: A prospective study in 47 pregnant women with RA and 22 healthy pregnant controls. The main outcome measures were birth weight in relation to maternal serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and RA activity and severity at three different time points: preconception and during the first and third trimesters. RESULTS: During the third trimester, IL-10 was detectable in 23.4% of patients with RA, IL-6 in 76.6%. Mean birth weight born to mothers with RA was higher when IL-10 level was high compared with low (p = 0.001), and lower when IL-6 was high compared with low (p = 0.035). Also increase in disease activity score-28 (in 60.1%, p = 0.001), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (in 87.5%, p = 0.013), and pain score (56.9 ± 11.4, p = 0.003) associated with increased risk of SGA. High patient's global scale was associated with unfavorable pregnancy outcome (preterm, SGA, and cesarean). CONCLUSION: High maternal IL-10 levels are associated with higher birth weight and high IL-6 levels are associated with lower birth weight (SGA). Among women with RA, disease activity and severity are predictive of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes suggesting that better disease management early in the pregnancy could improve pregnancy outcomes.