Associations of maternal atopic diseases with adverse pregnancy outcomes: a national cohort study

Maternal asthma has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Little is known about the influence of other atopic diseases on pregnancy outcomes. We assessed how various maternal atopic diseases might affect preterm birth, stillbirth, and neonatal death.

By linking Norwegian national registries, we acquired information on maternal health, socio-demographic factors, pregnancy, birth, and neonatal outcome on all births in Norway from 1967 to 2003.

A total of 1 974 226 births were included. Of these, 1.8% had a record of maternal asthma, 3.4% of maternal atopic dermatitis, and 0.4% of maternal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Overall rates of preterm birth, stillbirth, and neonatal death were 6.0%, 0.6%, and 0.5%, respectively. After adjustments for possible confounders, maternal asthma was associated with increased risk of preterm birth (relative risk (RR), 1.15, [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10, 1.21]). In contrast, maternal atopic dermatitis was associated with decreased risk of preterm birth (RR 0.90, [95% CI 0.86, 0.93]), stillbirth (RR 0.70, [95% CI 0.62, 0.79]), and neonatal death (RR 0.76, [95% CI 0.65, 0.90]). Similarly, maternal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis was associated with decreased risk of preterm birth (RR 0.84, [95% CI 0.76, 0.94]) and stillbirth (RR 0.40, [95% CI 0.25, 0.66]).

We confirmed the previously reported association of maternal asthma with increased risk for preterm birth. Unexpectedly, maternal atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis were associated with decreased risk of preterm birth and stillbirth. Mechanisms for these protective associations are unclear, and our findings require confirmation in further studies.