Maternal Term Pruritus and Long-Term Neuropsychiatric Morbidity in the Offspring

Abstract Purpose Pruritus during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal, pregnancy, and neonatal outcomes. We opted to assess the association between term pruritus and long-term neuropsychiatric morbidity in the offspring. Method In a population-based retrospective cohort study, the incidence of long-term neuropsychiatric morbidity was compared between offspring born to women with or without pruritus at term. Neuropsychiatric morbidity was assessed up to the age of 18 years according to ICD-9 codes associated with hospitalization of the offspring. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to compare cumulative neuropsychiatric morbidity incidence and Cox proportional hazards models were used to control for confounders. The study included 226,918 deliveries of which 600 (0.26%) were in women with term pruritus. Results Offspring born to women with pruritus exhibited a higher rate of long-term neuropsychiatric morbidity, specifically developmental and neurodegenerative disorders Kaplan-Meier survival curve demonstrated a significantly higher cumulative incidence of long-term neuropsychiatric morbidity in offspring of women with pruritus. Using several Cox proportional hazards models, being born to a woman with pruritus was independently associated with an increased risk of long-term neuropsychiatric morbidity. Conclusion Maternal term pruritus was found to be independently associated with long-term neuropsychiatric morbidity in the offspring.