The influence of pregnancy on Behcet's disease.
10.3349/ymj.1997.38.6.437
- Author:
Dongsik BANG
1
;
Yoon Sun CHUN
;
Ik Byeong HAAM
;
Eun So LEE
;
Sungnack LEE
Author Information
1. Department of Dermatology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Behcet's disease;
pregnancy
- MeSH:
Adult;
Behcet's Syndrome/physiopathology*;
C-Reactive Protein/analysis;
Female;
Human;
Infant, Newborn;
Menstrual Cycle;
Pregnancy;
Pregnancy Complications/physiopathology*
- From:Yonsei Medical Journal
1997;38(6):437-443
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Behcet's disease is a multisystem disorder that affects mainly young adults. Conflicting reports of the effects of pregnancy on the course of Behcet's disease have been reported. We studied 27 pregnant women with Behcet's disease using questionnaires, clinical examination, and laboratory tests. The condition of 18 patients worsened (66.7%) and 9 patients (33.3%) improved during pregnancy. In the deteriorated group, clinical exacerbation of Behcet's disease occurred most commonly during the first trimester (77.8%). They were primarily of the suspected or mucocutaneous type, while in the improved group, the majority of patients were of the incomplete and complete type, or the arthritic and ocular type. Of interest was the fact that all patients in the improved group showed exacerbations related to menstruation or postpartum, which indicated that progesterone may be the major hormone influencing the course of Behcet's disease.
