Analysis of Antibody to Helicobacter Pylori in Pregnant Women with Nausea and Vomiting

More than 80% of pregnant women suffer from vomiting and nausea during weeks 4-7 of pregnancy after the last menstrual period (LMP). These problems are mostly resolved at week 20 of pregnancy. Hyperemesis gravidrun (HG) is a severe form of vomiting and nausea occurring in one out of every 200 pregnant women. HG has some symptoms and signs such as nausea, vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, ketonurea, hypocalcaemia, esophagus disorder, pneumthorax, peripheral neuropathy, fetal growth disorder and increased mortality rate. Recent studies showed Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) to have a possible role in occurrence of vomiting, nausea and also HG during pregnancy. The current study assessed the immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) titer to H. pylori in pregnant women with nausea, vomiting and HG in Ilam. This case-control study used non-probability quota sampling to select 100 pregnant women (including 50 subjects with severe vomiting and nausea as the case group, and 50 without the symptoms as the control group) from those attending "Mostafa Khomeini" hospital and other clinics in Ilam. After collecting the data through interview and filling questionnaires, the IgG and IgM titers against H. pylori were measured by ELISA method. Data analysis was performed using chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and T-test in SPSS (ver. 16). The significant level of the test was considered α = 5%. The mean IgG titers in the case (45.2 ± 5) and the control (25.8 ± 4) groups differed significantly (P = 0.04). There was also a significant difference (P = 0.01) between the mean IgM titers in the case (19.6 ± 7.2) and the control groups (11.8 ± 6.9). In addition, a significant correlation was observed between severe nausea and vomiting(more than three times ad day) and increased IgM titer values in the case group (P = 0.02), while no significant correlation was found between IgG, nausea and vomiting (P = 0.08). H. pylori can cause nausea, vomiting and HG during pregnancy and therefore detection and treatment of this infection in pregnant women is suggested to cure the problem.