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Women's Health

Asthma in Pregnancy

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JAMA

Published Online: May 26, 2023

JAMA Insights

Article Information and Disclosures

Jenny Huang, MD¹;

Jennifer Namazy, MD¹

Author Affiliations

¹Department of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Scripps Clinic, San Diego, California

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Asthma is a common medical condition that is estimated to affect 8.4% to 8.8% of pregnant individuals.¹ Uncontrolled asthma during pregnancy has been associated with adverse outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and preeclampsia. Asthma exacerbations during pregnancy may result in presentation to the emergency department, hospitalization for treatment of exacerbations, and, rarely, death. In individuals who have known asthma at pregnancy, recent data revealed that 60% of them had no change in their asthma during pregnancy but 40% had worsening of their symptoms; no individuals had improvement in their asthma.² This finding differs from the previous observation that one-third of patients experience improvement, one-third have no change, and one-third have worsening of symptoms. For some patients, the initial diagnosis of asthma can also be made during pregnancy.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Jenny Huang, MD, Department of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Scripps Clinic Mission Valley, 7565 Mission Valley Rd, San Diego, CA 92108 (huang.jenny@scrippshealth.org).

Published Online: May 26, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.5588

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

References

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AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 credit toward the CME of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.