Previous studies have found celiac disease to be associated with several conditions affecting pregnancy and female reproductive outcomes. In a new population-based study, researchers sought to determine how celiac disease affects pregnancy outcomes, both before and after celiac disease diagnosis.
Using data from Danish national registries, researchers compared pregnancy outcomes in women with celiac disease (before and after diagnosis) with pregnancy outcomes in women without celiac disease. The comparison group without celiac disease was matched by age with the celiac disease group. Pregnancy outcomes included chance of pregnancy, live and stillbirths, induced and spontaneous abortions (i.e., miscarriage), and molar and ectopic pregnancies.
The results of this study showed no significant differences in pregnancy outcomes between women diagnosed with celiac disease and women without celiac disease. However, women with celiac disease were found to have a higher chance of experiencing an adverse pregnancy outcome, such as miscarriage or stillbirth, prior to being diagnosed with celiac disease.
These results suggest that undiagnosed celiac disease may affect female reproduction and the focus should be on early detection of celiac disease in high risk groups to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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Effect of Celiac Disease on Pregnancy Before and After Diagnosis