Gut dysbiosis may be associated with hyperemesis gravidarum

Abstract

Purpose

In this study, we aimed to determine the frequency of different intestinal microorganisms of patients with normal pregnancies and HG and to compare these frequencies between the two groups.

Materials and methods

This case-control study was carried out in Baskent University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and included 20 patients; 10 of whom had normal pregnancies and 10 of whom had HG. A stool flora scan was routinely planned for all patients. Transient and continuous fecal bacteria and fungal flora were analyzed. All data were evaluated statistically and their relationships with clinical condition were discussed.

Results

The study group consisted of 20 pregnant women with a mean age of 31.5 years. All patients were nonsmokers and free of chronic diseases and of any medications. Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria groups, fungal colonies, and parasites were examined and bowel pH values were measured separately for each patient. Bacterial and fungal species outside the reference ranges were recorded for each patient. There was a statistically significant increase in Clostridium spp. (p:.01) and Candida spp. (p:.033) and a statistically significant decrease in Bifidobacterium spp.(p:.008) in patients with HG compared to women with normal pregnancies. There was a significant difference between the group with HG and the group with normal pregnancies in terms of flora dysbiosis (p:.001).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that gut dysbiosis may be a factor in HG. The effect of the severity of gut dysbiosis on the disease may be the subject of future studies.

Keywords:

• Hyperemesis gravidarum
• gut microbiata
• gut dysbiosis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Baskent Üniversitesi [KA17/321]