title: A population-based assessment of live births in women with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors aim to calculate the number of live births, before and after systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis, in women diagnosed during their reproductive years and to compare this with general population rates.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors identified women with SLE using Quebec administrative databases (1 January 1994 to 31 December 2003). The authors determined the number of live births, and calculated the standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of observed to expected live births.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1334 women with SLE were identified. Overall, the number of live births over the interval (559) was below that which would be expected (708) (SIR 0.79; 95% CI 0.73 to 0.86). Compared with the general population, live births were substantially lower after SLE diagnosis (SIR 0.62; 95% CI 0.55 to 0.70) than before diagnosis (SIR 1.01; 95% CI 0.90 to 1.13).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After diagnosis, women with SLE have substantially fewer live births than the general population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Epidemiology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada. evelyne.vinet@mail.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vinet
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Labrecque
authors.forename: Christian A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pineau
authors.forename: Ann E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: Yvan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: St-Pierre
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.forename: Sasha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernatsky
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001723:Birth Rate; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D050498:Live Birth / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008423:Maternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult