Mucosal Healing in Patients With Celiac Disease and Outcomes of Pregnancy: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Abstract

Studies have associated undiagnosed celiac disease with adverse outcomes of pregnancy. We investigated the association between persistent villous atrophy and outcomes of pregnancy in women with celiac disease. We collected data on 337 women with celiac disease who gave birth (to 460 infants) within 5years of a follow-up biopsy, from 28 pathology departments in Sweden. We compared birth outcomes from women whose follow-up biopsy showed persistent villous atrophy (Marsh score, 3; n= 142; 31% of study population) with those of women with mucosal recovery (n= 318; 69%). We used multivariable logistic regression (adjusted for maternal age, parity, country of birth, smoking, infant sex, and calendar year of birth) to evaluate the association between persistent villous atrophy and pregnancy outcomes. Intrauterine growth restriction occurred during 3.5% of pregnancies in women with persistent villous atrophy vs 3.8% of those with mucosal healing (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.19-1.99). There was no significant association between persistent villous atrophy and low birth weight (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.41-2.39), preterm birth (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 0.72-3.83), or cesarean section (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.51-1.46). Although undiagnosed celiac disease has been associated with adverse outcomes of pregnancy, we found no evidence from a nationwide population-based study that persistent villous atrophy, based on analysis of follow-up biopsies, increases risk compared with mucosal healing.