Increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes among women affected by herpangina.
OBJECTIVE
This population-based study aimed to assess the relation between herpangina and adverse pregnancy outcomes: low birthweight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), and preterm delivery.


METHODS
A total of 242 pregnant women who had singleton births and who visited ambulatory care centers for the treatment of herpangina were assessed, together with 1936 matched women as a comparison group. Conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the risk of LBW, preterm birth, and SGA for mothers with herpangina and unaffected mothers.


RESULTS
Compared with pregnant women without herpangina, herpangina was associated with a 2.29- (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.42-3.69), 1.67- (95% CI, 1.04-2.68), and 1.63-fold (95% CI, 1.14-2.33) increased risk of having LBW, preterm, and SGA infants, respectively, after adjusting for family income and maternal and infant characteristics.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings highlight a significant potential risk posed by herpangina, a usually mild disease, among pregnant women.
Chen
Yi-Hua
YH
School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei, Taiwan.
Lin
Hsiu-Chen
HC
Lin
Herng-Ching
HC
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004770:Enterovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006557:Herpangina / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D047928:Premature Birth; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult