Increased Congenital Heart Defects in Children Born to Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Results from the Offspring of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Mothers Registry Study [1]
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.