Role of reproductive factors in female patients with primary biliary cholangitis

Objective To investigate the role of productive factors in the development of primary biliary cholangitis( PBC). Methods A total of 273 female patients with a definite diagnosis of PBC who visited Xijing Hospital from October 2013 to August 2015 were enrolled. The patients with autoimmune hepatitis,primary sclerosing cholangitis overlap syndrome,and hepatic encephalopathy and those with incomplete data after telephone follow- up were excluded,and 54 female PBC patients who had female relatives were finally enrolled( PBC group).The female relatives who were less than 10 years older or younger than the patients were collected,and those with severe systemic diseases and incomplete data after telephone follow- up were excluded; finally 88 relatives were enrolled( relative group). The questionnaire for female reproductive factors in PBC was used to survey all these enrolled patients and collect data. The t- test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups,the chi- square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups,and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was used for the analysis of dose- response relationship. Results The PBC group had a significantly higher number of births than the relative group( 2. 55 ± 1. 84 vs 1. 84 ± 0. 95,t = 2. 708,P = 0. 009). Furthermore,there was a significant dose- response pattern between the number of births and the development of PBC( P = 0. 002). Conclusion The number of births may be associated with the development of PBC in a dose- response manner. As for the female population susceptible to PBC,a reduction in the number of births may reduce the possibility of PBC.