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Updated: May 26, 2026
Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
The association of antiphospholipid antibodies with intrauterine fetal death: a case-control study
Linda Björk Helgadottir1, Finn Egil Skjeldestad, Anne Flem Jacobsen
1Department of Haematology, Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, Oslo, Norway. linda_bjork_helgadottir@hotmail.com
Introduction:
Over the past few decades it has been recognized that antiphospholipid antibodies are associated with pregnancy loss. Other placenta-mediated pregnancy complications have also been associated with the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies. Most studies have measured antiphospholipid antibodies near the time of the event investigated.
Objectives:
To investigate the association of antiphospholipid antibodies and a history of intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) in a case-control design.
Materials And Methods:
A case-control study of 105 women with a history of IUFD after 22 gestational weeks and 262 controls with live births. The prevalence of lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin- and anti-β2-glycoprotein 1 antibodies were measured 3-18years after the event of IUFD.
Results:
Total 9.5% of women with a history of IUFD and 5.0% of controls had at least one positive test for antiphospholipid antibodies (OR 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9-4.8). Women with a history of IUFD were significantly more often positive for lupus anticoagulant compared to controls (OR 4.3; 95% CI 1.0-18.4). The association of lupus anticoagulant with a history of IUFD was confined to women positive for other antiphospholipid antibodies in addition to lupus anticoagulant. Being positive for anti-β2-glycoprotein 1 or anticardiolipin antibodies alone was not significantly associated with a history of IUFD.
Conclusions:
Women with a history of IUFD after 22 gestational weeks were more often lupus anticoagulant positive. The association was confined to women with multiple positivity for antiphospholipid antibodies, although firm conclusions on the importance of multiple positivity cannot be made from this study.
