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Health-related quality of life in women with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: the importance of psychosocial context

Journal of Perinatology volume 31, pages 10–20 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

To test whether women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) demonstrated lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores compared with those with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP).

Study Design:

Women with HG or NVP were examined during the first trimester. Multivariate models identified characteristics of women at risk for low HRQoL, as measured by an NVP-specific HRQoL test and a generic HRQoL test, the Short Form (SF)-36.

Result:

Although the SF-36 assessment did not discriminate between the two groups, the NVP-specific test showed that women with HG (N=29) were 3–6 times more likely than women with NVP (N=48) to have low HRQoL. Both tests demonstrated that perceived physical symptoms and multiple psychosocial factors, such as depression and marital status, seemed to be equally or more important than having HG.

Conclusion:

Although a low HRQoL was associated with an HG diagnosis, multiple physical symptoms and psychosocial factors placed both groups of women at risk.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, contract number N01-HD-2-3342.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    S Munch

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    L M Korst, G D Hernandez & T M Goodwin

  3. Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD, NIH, Detroit, MI, USA

    R Romero

Authors
  1. S Munch
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  2. L M Korst
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  3. G D Hernandez
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  4. R Romero
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Correspondence to S Munch.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Two abstracts associated with this paper were presented as posters at the Annual Clinical Conference of the National Perinatal Association, November 2008: ‘Determinants of health-related quality of life for women with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy,’ and ‘Evaluation of the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy specific health-related quality of life questionnaire for women with hyperemesis gravidarum.’

Appendix A

Appendix A

Table A1

Table 4
Full size table

Groups of risk factors associated with low health-related quality of life outcomes by subjects with and without hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)

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Munch, S., Korst, L., Hernandez, G. et al. Health-related quality of life in women with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: the importance of psychosocial context. J Perinatol 31, 10–20 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2010.54

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