Correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastrointestinal symptoms in pregnancy.

ABSTRACT

Nausea, vomiting, and other dyspeptic symptoms are common in pregnancy. This hospital-based, cross-sectional study was designed to determine the role of Helicobacter pylori infection in gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms during pregnancy. Standardized verbal scales were used to evaluate the frequency and severity of GI symptoms in 54 women whose pregnancies were in the first 16 gestational weeks. H. pylori infection was defined as a positive serum immunoglobulin G result on an immunochromatographic assay. The H. pylori seropositivity rate was higher in the pregnant women (69%) than in the general population (approximately 50%-55%), but seropositivity did not correlate with clinical symptoms. Moreover, no specific patterns of GI symptoms were uncovered in the H. pylori-infected patients. Maternal age, body weight, parity, gestational week, and educational level were not associated with H. pylori infection; neither were the prevalence and severity of GI symptoms.