Infertility in women with RA compared to healthy controls.
| Variables | Healthy Controls, n = 75 | Women with RA, n = 75 |
|---|---|---|
| PCOS and associated comorbidities | ||
| PCOS | 5 (7) | 3 (4) |
| Diabetes | 1 (1) | 2/74 (3) |
| Pre-diabetes/insulin resistance | 3 (4) | 3 (4) |
| Irregular menstrual cycles | 15/73 (21) | 20/73 (27) |
| Patient-reported hirsutism | 19 (25) | 19 (25) |
| Adult acne | 40 (53) | 42/74 (57) |
| Problem with hair loss on head | 2 (3) | 12 (16)* |
| Obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) | 21 (28) | 24 (32) |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 27.1 ± 7.8 | 28.6 ± 9.0 |
| Pregnancy and conception history | ||
| Ever tried to get pregnant | 24 (32) | 39 (52)* |
| Age when first tried to get pregnant, yrs | 26.7 ± 4.4 | 27.3 ± 5.1 |
| Ever pregnant | 33 (44) | 40 (53) |
| Number of planned pregnancies | n = 32 | n = 47 |
| Months to conceive | 4.7 ± 5.2 | 3.7 ± 3.5 |
| After diagnosis | – | 3.5 (3.7) |
| > 12 months to conception | 3 (9) | 2 (4) |
| After diagnosis | – | 2 (6) |
| Frequency of intercourse when trying to conceive | 11.9 ± 7.5 | 11.9 ± 9.3 |
| Infertility† | 5/34 (15) | 9/47 (19) |
| Reasons for infertility or inability to get pregnant‡ | n = 5 | n = 9 |
| PCOS # | 3 (60) | 0 (0)* |
| Male factor | 0 (0) | 2 (22) |
| Ovulatory dysfunction | 2 (40) | 1 (11) |
| Unexplained or unknown | 0 (0) | 5 (56) |
| No answer provided | 0 (0) | 2 (22) |
↵* p < 0.05 compared to healthy controls.
↵† Among women who have ever been pregnant or tried to become pregnant.
↵‡ Women may have more than 1 reason for infertility; therefore, percentages do not total to 100%.
↵# 3 healthy controls with PCOS and 0 women with RA + PCOS reported PCOS as the cause of their infertility or inability to get pregnant. BMI: body mass index; PCOS: polycystic ovary syndrome; RA: rheumatoid arthritis.