Are circulating proinflammatory cytokines associated with lower birth weight of newborns from women with rheumatoid arthritis?

Recent studies have shown that high disease activity during pregnancy in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with lower birth weight of the child, even after adjustment for gestational age and medication. Lower birth weight, even within the normal range, has been linked with cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndromes in adulthood. In studies on a limited number of healthy pregnant women, a role for interleukin 6 (IL6) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) in intrauterine growth restriction has been …