Asthma in Children of Mothers With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and the Role of Preterm Birth

Objective Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and asthma share inheritable IgE‐related pathophysiology, but the association between maternal SLE and asthma in the offspring has not been explored. Our aim was to investigate the association between maternal SLE during pregnancy and childhood asthma and examine the role of preterm birth as a mediator of the association using Swedish register data. Methods Information on 12,000 singleton live births (2001–2013) was collected from the Medical Birth Register. Childhood asthma was defined as at least 1 International Classification of Diseases–coded visit in the National Patient Register. Prevalent maternal SLE at delivery was identified from the Medical Birth Register and the National Patient Register. Risk ratios for asthma were estimated while controlling for confounders. Mediation analysis was used to estimate what percentage of the total effect can be explained by preterm birth (defined as either