Demographics and disease-related variables in patients and partners.
| Variables | Fathers | Mothers |
|---|---|---|
| Race, white | 27 | 27 |
| Age at conception, yrs (min;max) | 34.6 ± 5.5 (24;47) | 29.5 ± 3.2 (20;35) |
| Diagnosis | ||
| Axial involvement in AS | 19 (70.3) | 0 |
| Axial and peripheral involvement in AS | 8 (29.6) | 0 |
| PsA^ | 0 | 1 (0.4) |
| Disease duration at conception, yrs | 10.6 ± 5.7 | 4 (1 mother) |
| Abnormality at laboratory screening or imaging at conception | 0 | 0 |
| In remission at conception (BASDAI) | 26 (96.3) | NA |
| TNFi dosage and exposure | ||
| ADA, 40 mg/2 weeks | 12 (36.4) | 0 |
| ETN, 50 mg/1 week | 14 (42.4) | 0 |
| IFX, 5 mg/kg/8 weeks | 7 (21.2) | 0 |
| TNFi therapy duration, mos | 42.6 ± 26.0 | 0 |
| Other therapies | ||
| NSAID* | 14 (43.8) | 1 (0.4) |
| SSZ (+ NSAID) | 0 | 0 |
| MTX | 0 | 0 |
| Fertility treatments | 0 | 0 |
| Exposure to smoking, illicit drugs, toxic agents, drinking habits | ||
| Smoking | 3 (11.1) | 0 |
| Drinking habits, occasional | 27 (100) | 0 |
| Illicit drugs exposure | 0 | 0 |
| Toxic agent exposure | 0 | 0 |
| Medical history/comorbidities | ||
| History of genital tract infections | 0 | 0 |
| Epidemic parotitis involving testis in teen years/adulthood | 0 | – |
| Cystitis during pregnancy§ | – | 6 (22) |
| Varicocele | 0 | – |
| Other comorbidities | 0 | 0 |
| Desire to conceive | 26 (96.3) | NA |
Values are mean ± SD or n (%) unless otherwise specified.
↵^ Onset of PsA in 1 mother preconception.
↵* Very rare exposure to NSAID (1–2 times/mo).
↵§ The partners of male patients were monitored 3 times during pregnancy. AS: ankylosing spondylitis; PsA: psoriatic arthritis; BASDAI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; TNFi: tumor necrosis factor inhibitors; ADA: adalimumab; ETN: etanercept; IFX: infliximab; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs; SSZ: sulfasalazine; MTX: methotrexate; NA: not available.