title: Prenatal exposure to hyperemesis gravidarum linked to increased risk of psychological and behavioral disorders in adulthood.
abstract: Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, is characterized by long-term maternal stress, undernutrition and dehydration. While maternal stress and malnutrition of pregnancy are linked to poor neonatal outcome and associated with poor adult health, long-term outcome of fetal exposure to HG has never been explored. The purpose of this study is to determine whether long-term emotional and behavioral diagnoses may be associated with fetal exposure to HG. Emotional and behavioral diagnoses of adults born of a pregnancy complicated by HG were compared to diagnoses from non-exposed controls. Offspring exposed to HG in utero were significantly more likely to have a psychological and behavioral disorder (OR = 3.6, P < 0.0001) with diagnoses primarily of depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. In utero exposure to HG may lead to increased risks of psychological and behavioral disorders in the offspring.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Mullin
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bray
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schoenberg
authors.affiliation: 3Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation, Leesburg, VA, USA.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: MacGibbon
authors.affiliation: 4Department of Health and Human Services, NICHD, NIH, DHHS, Perinatology Research Branch, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fejzo