Assessment of pregnancy outcomes in Czech and Slovak women with narcolepsy.
BACKGROUND
Narcolepsy is associated with altered metabolic functions. We sought to investigate the effect of narcolepsy on pregnancy and newborns.


METHODS
A retrospective cohort study of patients in whom the first symptoms of narcolepsy appeared before or after pregnancy. Our study included 54 women, mothers of a total of 110 children (37 with symptoms of narcolepsy before and during pregnancy, 17 developed the narcolepsy syndrome only after childbirth). With only 1 exception, none of the patients were treated with drugs during pregnancy.


RESULTS
We did not find any significant differences between the 2 groups in the registered parameters of: age of mothers at delivery, history of spontaneous abortion, alcohol and nicotine consumption, medication, complications during pregnancy, symptoms of narcolepsy, weight gain during pregnancy, length of pregnancy and delivery, complications during delivery, and weight and length of the newborn. The women experiencing symptoms of narcolepsy before or during pregnancy were found to have a significantly higher total number of pregnancy complications (35.8%) than those with later onset of symptoms (9.1%), although the complications were not clinically significant. More patients in the symptomatic group tended to have impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes, compared to the asymptomatic group.


CONCLUSIONS
The study revealed no clinically relevant adverse effects of narcolepsy on pregnancy, childbirth or the newborn.
Department of Neurology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic. e.maurovich@gmail.com
Eszter
E
Maurovich-Horvat
Mária
M
Tormášiová
Jana
J
Slonková
David
D
Kemlink
Lajos
L
Maurovich-Horvat
Soňa
S
Nevšímalová
Martin
M
Pretl
Karel
K
Sonka
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018153:Czech Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009290:Narcolepsy / Q000150:complications*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018154:Slovakia / Q000453:epidemiology