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Objective: Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) affects 0.5–2% of pregnant women, and 10% of those diagnosed require at least one inpatient hospitalization. In previous studies on the relationship between eating disorders and nausea and vomiting, women with eating disorders have been reported to have a higher rate of maternal and fetal complications, and pregnancy is known to be a time for increased risk for both remission from and re-emergence of eating disorder symptoms.
We aimed to determine the relationship between eating attitudes and psychiatric symptoms in women with HG and to compare these women with healthy control subjects.
Methods: The study sample included 48 females with HG, and the control group had 44 pregnant women. The patients were selected among women with HG hospitalized in the obstetric inpatient clinic. All of the participants were in the first trimester of pregnancy. The participants' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded in the obstetric clinic. All of the participants completed a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and Body Image Scale (BIS).
Results: Women with HG were more likely to have had a history of HG during their previous pregnancy (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the study and control groups regarding obstetric history. Women with HG were more inşuenced by food that induced nausea. There was no significant difference between the study and control groups for pre-pregnancy nausea, food craving, and the initial BMI (P>0.05). Depression and anxiety scores were significantly higher in women with HG (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the study and control groups for body image score and eating attitude test scores (P>0.05).
Conclusions: We suggest that HG appears to be associated with depression and anxiety symptoms rather than deterioration of eating attitudes and body image. However, these results should be confirmed by prospective and clinical studies.