Ectopic pregnancy in relation to previous induced abortion
J. R. Daling, W. H. Chow, N. S. Weiss, B. J. Metch and R. Soderstrom
Women who were hospitalized for ectopic pregnancy in five hospitals in King
County, Washington, were interviewed concerning history of induced
abortion. For comparison, women who delivered a live-born child during this
same time period were also interviewed. Relative to women who had never
undergone an abortion, the risk in those who had was increased to a modest
degree, but this increase could well have been the result of chance
(relative risk, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.7 to 2.6). For women who
had two or more abortions, the relative risk was 1.8 (95% confidence
interval, 0.5 to 7.1). Our results suggest that legal abortion as performed
during the past decade in the United States does not carry a large excess
risk for future ectopic pregnancy, but larger studies will be needed in
order to determine more precisely the magnitude of any excess that does
exist.
