The Patterns of Use of Medications for Inflammatory Bowel Disease During Pregnancy in the US and Sweden Are Changing

Background: Population-level data spanning different countries describing oral and parenteral treatment in pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are scarce. We studied treatment with sulfasalazine/5-aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, thiopurines/immunomodulators, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-inhibitors in the United States (Optum Clinformatics Data Mart and the Medicaid Analytics Extract [MAX]) and in the Swedish national health registers. Methods: We identified 2975 pregnant women in Optum (2004-2013), 3219 women in MAX (2001-2013), and 1713 women in Sweden (2006 -2015) with a recorded diagnosis of IBD. We assessed patterns of use for each drug class according to filled prescriptions, assessing frequency of treatment continuation in those that were treated in the prepregnancy period. Results: The proportion of women with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis on any treatment during pregnancy was 56.1% and 56.3% in Optum, 47.5% and 49.3% in MAX, and 61.3% and 64.7% in Sweden, respectively, and remained stable over time. Sulfasalazine/5-aminosaficylates was the most commonly used treatment in Crohn's disease, ranging from 25.1%in MAX to 31.8%in Optum, and in ulcerative colitis, ranging from 34.9%in MAX to 53.6% in Sweden. From 2006 to 2012, the TNF-inhibitor use increased from 5.0% to 15.5% in Optum, from 3.6% to 8.5% in MAX, and from 0.7% to 8.3% in Sweden. Continuing 'INF-inhibitor treatment throughout pregnancy was more common in Opuun (55.8%) and in MAX (43.0%) than in Sweden (11.8%). Conclusions: In this population-based study from 2 countries, the proportion of women with IBD treatment in pregnancy remained relatively constant. TNF-inhibitor use increased substantially in both countries.

Automated summary

Population-level data on treatment for pregnant women with IBD are scarce. However, this study found that treatment proportions remained relatively constant across countries, with a substantial increase in TNF-inhibitor use.