Study: Pregnancy increases the risk of developing autoimmune diseases
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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A successfully resolved pregnancy increases the risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. To this conclusion came a group of specialists led by Keelin O'Donoghue (Keelin O'Donoghue) from the Irish National University in Cork. The article about the research was published in the journal PLoS ONE.
The O'Donaghy group conducted a retrospective study that covered more than a million women born in Denmark from 1962 to 1992. 44.3% of the participants had a child born as a result of normal birth, 43.3% - never been pregnant, 7.6% of women gave birth to a first-born with cesarean section, 4.1% - suffered an abortion.
Scientists have identified 25 570 cases of autoimmune diseases among all participants. According to the results of the work, the risk of developing such diseases in women giving birth alone, as well as with the help of surgeons, exceeded the similar indicator in the group of Danes who were not pregnant by 15 and 30%, respectively. At the same time, the risk of autoimmune diseases among those who had abortions was 30 percent lower than in the control group.
In previous studies, it was found that the fetal cells enter the mother's blood during early pregnancy, later they can be found in the bone marrow for decades. According to the researchers, by attacking foreign cells, the mother's immune system begins to react to her own tissues, which leads to the development of autoimmune diseases.
O'Donaghue said that during the operation of cesarean section, the woman's body gets more blood of the child than with natural childbirth. This researchers explained a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases in Danish women who gave birth through surgical intervention.
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