title: Pregnancy and Guillain-Barré syndrome: a nationwide register cohort study.
abstract: In this study, we determined the relationship between Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and pregnancy. By taking advantage of several nationwide registers and the availability of personal identification numbers, we calculated person-years for Swedish females aged 15-49 years in the following categories: (1) neither pregnant nor postpartum; (2) pregnant; (3) in the first month postpartum, or (4) in the first 3 months postpartum during 1973-1983. For these women, we determined the corresponding exposure status of hospital-registered GBS cases. Medical records were examined for GBS cases hospitalized during the 2-week period postpartum and 1-month period after the last menstruation. Poisson regression analysis yielded age-adjusted relative risks (RRs) of 0.86 (95% CI 0.40-1.84) for pregnant women, and 1.47 (0.54-3.99) and 2.21 (0.55-8.94) for females during the 3-month and the 30-day period after delivery. The risk for GBS seems to be lower during pregnancy and increases after delivery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical, Neuroscience and Family Medicine, Huddinge University Hospital, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: G X
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Pedro-Cuesta
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Strigård
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Link
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D011129:Polyradiculoneuropathy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology