Increased Congenital Heart Defects in Children Born to Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Results from the Offspring of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Mothers Registry Study

The authors aimed to study whether systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) resulted in an increased risk of congenital heart defects (CHD). Mothers with SLE were selected from a large Quebec healthcare database and matched to mothers without SLE. Children born to mothers with SLE were more likely to experience CHD (5.2% versus 1.9%). The odds ratio in a multivariable model was 2.62 (95% CI, 1.77-3.88). Moreover, children born to mothers with SLE also had an increased risk of a CHD repair procedure.