Depression and Anxiety Test Scores in Patients with Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Aim: Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) refers to a disorder of early pregnancy that manifests with extreme, difficult-to-treat nausea and vomiting. Its pathogenesis is largely obscure, and studies investigating its link with anxiety depression have remained inconclusive. Herein, we aimed to study the depression and anxiety levels of a Turkish population of pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective sectional study conducted at our Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between January 2011 and June 2013. There were 50 pregnant women with HG and 50 healthy pregnant women without any history of nausea and vomiting, who were matched with the study group for age, parity, and body mass index. All subjects underwent baseline laboratory investigations including serum TSH. Results: The two groups were comparable with regard to the demographic and obstetric parameters and baseline laboratory investigations although the HG group had significantly greater mean serum AST and TSH levels (p=0.015 and p=0.0001, respectively). Additionally, the HG group had significantly greater BDI and BAI scores compared to the controls (p= 0.0001). Conclusion: Our results have shown that psychological stress may be one of the causes of HG. For this reason, emotional states as well as medical conditions of HG patients during pregnancy should be considered. However, these results should be confirmed by prospective and clinical studies.