Are women with rheumatoid arthritis negative for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide and rheumatoid factor more likely to improve during pregnancy , whereas in autoantibody-positive women autoantibody levels are not influenced by pregnancy?
Improvement of disease activity of RA during pregnancy was not associated with changes in levels of autoantibodies during pregnancy, however, improvement may occur more frequently in the absence of anti-CCP and RF.
The implication of this study pertains to the importance of community resources and emergency food assistance programs that have served to minimize the burden associated with hunger and poor food access among low-income, urban populations.