Maternal age and fetal loss: population based register linkage study

Abstract

Objective To estimate the association between maternal age and fetal death (spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth), taking into account a woman's reproductive history. Design Prospective register linkage study. Subjects All women with a reproductive outcome (live birth, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion leading to admission to hospital, induced abortion, ectopic pregnancy, or hydatidiform mole) in Denmark from 1978 to 1992; a total of 634 272 women and 1 221 546 pregnancy outcomes. Main outcome measures Age related risk of fetal loss, ectopic pregnancy, and stillbirth, and age related risk of spontaneous abortion stratified according to parity and previous spontaneous abortions. Results Overall, 13.5% of the pregnancies intended to be carried to term ended with fetal loss. At age 42 years, more than half of such pregnancies resulted in fetal loss. The risk of a spontaneous abortion was 8.9% in women aged 20-24 years and 74.7% in those aged 45 years or more. High maternal age was a significant risk factor for spontaneous abortion irrespective of the number of previous miscarriages, parity, or calendar period. The risk of an ectopic pregnancy and stillbirth also increased with increasing maternal age. Conclusions Fetal loss is high in women in their late 30s or older, irrespective of reproductive history. This should be taken into consideration in pregnancy planning and counselling.

Effect of maternal age on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET)

“…It is reported that genetic abnormalities, uterine anatomical defects, antiphospholipid antibodies, environmental factors, advanced maternal age, obesity, endometriosis, etc. may be the possible causes of miscarriage in natural and assisted conceptions [20][21][22][23][24]. In our study, the higher miscarriage rates in patients over 35 years old may mainly result from advanced maternal age and aneuploid embryo since most of the other reasons were excluded before IVF cycle starting.…”

Occupational lifting during pregnancy and risk of fetal death in a large national cohort study

“…Application of a fetal life-table approach to the data has, however, estimated the cumulative risk of fetal loss from the beginning of week 6 to be 11% (28), which matches national estimates of fetal loss (29). We did not have data to examine whether non-participation differed between women with limited workload and a miscarriage and women with heavy workload and a miscarriage.…”

Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase C677T Polymorphism and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Risk in Asian Population: A Meta-analysis

“…RPL is a major concern in gynecology, affecting about 1-5 % of couples [2,4,5] and frequently accompanied by maternal morbidity as well as a considerable psychological burden. The risk of recurrence increases with the maternal age and number of successive losses [6,7]. It is a multifactorial disorder caused very often by genetic abnormalities (gene mutations and abnormal embryonic karyotypes), endocrine disorders, uterine anatomy anomalies, infectious or immunologic factors, alcohol use and chemical exposure [8][9][10][11].…”