Abstract
Research question
What implications does anorexia nervosa have on pregnancy outcomes in a US population?
Design
A retrospective, population-based study using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization
Project—Nationwide Inpatient Sample. A dataset of all deliveries between 2004 and
2014 inclusively was created. The population was divided into women with anorexia
nervosa (n = 214) and women without anorexia nervosa (n = 9,096,574), and a cohort matched 1:4 with anorexia nervosa for age, race, medical
insurance type and income quartile. Delivery and neonatal outcomes were compared between
the two matched groups and with the control group of deliveries. A multivariable logistic
regression analysis, controlling for statistically significant baseline characteristics,
explored associations between anorexia nervosa and delivery, and neonatal outcomes.
Results
Compared with the entire group, women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa were more likely
to be white, smokers, of higher income or diagnosed with another psychiatric disorder.
In the unmatched comparison, women with anorexia nervosa had a higher frequency of
preterm delivery (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.98 CI 1.86 to 4.76, P < 0.001), placental abruption (aOR 3.41 CI 1.38 to 8.40, P = 0.008) and small for gestational age (SGA) neonates (aOR 5.32 CI 3.12 to 9.09,
P < 0.001). In the matched comparison, preterm delivery (aOR 5.31, CI 3.02 to 9.32,
P < 0.001) and SGA neonates were significantly higher in the anorexia nervosa group
(aOR 4.69 CI 2.6 to 8.41, P < 0.001), providing results similar to the unmatched comparison.
Conclusion
Healthcare providers, specifically fertility specialists, should be aware of the magnitude
of adverse outcomes related to pregnancy in women with anorexia nervosa.
KEYWORDS
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Biography
Dr Ido Feferkorn is a graduate of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa Israel. He completed his residency at Carmel Medical Center in Haifa and a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at McGill University Health Center. He currently works at Tel-Aviv Medical Center.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 10, 2022
Accepted:
December 7,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 2,
2022
Received:
August 6,
2022
Declaration: The authors report no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
