Evaluation of nausea and vomiting in the first trimester on the risk of adverse birth outcomes and the contribution of genetic polymorphisms: a pilot prospective study

Abstract

To evaluate the impact of Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) on the risk of preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW), and explore the effect of genetic polymorphisms on the severity of NVP. MethodsA prospective study was conducted. Participants' experience of NVP prior to 12 gestational weeks were evaluated by a Pregnancy-Unique Quanti cation of Emesis and Nausea (PUQE) scale. 11 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) loci located in growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and leucine rich repeat containing 25 (LRRC25) gene of chr19p13.11 and intergenic region of chr4q12 were genotyped, which were implicated as genetic risk factors for NVP. Logistic regression models were applied to determine the effect of NVP in the rst trimester on the risk of PTB and LBW, and genetic polymorphisms on the risk of NVP. ResultsAmong 413 pregnant women, the incidence of nausea and vomiting was 85.5% (n = 353) in the rst trimester, including 38.7% (n = 160) mild vomiting, 42.6%(n = 176) moderate vomiting and 4.1% (n = 17) severe vomiting. 33 were PTB, 20 were LBW. Compared with pregnant women without NVP, women with mild, moderate or severe NVP in the rst trimester were not associated with the risk of PTB and LBW. Besides, the polymorphisms of 11 SNPs loci were not associated with the risk of NVP. ConclusionsOur study indicated that symptoms of nausea and vomiting in the rst trimester were not signi cantly associated with PTB and LBW, and there were also no associations between GDF15 and LRRC25 polymorphisms and NVP. What Does This Study Add?This study indicated that maternal nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy was not associated with adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth and low birth weight, and the polymorphisms of GDF15 and LRRC25 were not associated with the risk of NVP in Chinese pregnant women.

The timing, duration, and severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes among controls without birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study

“…Regarding birth weight, we did not observe any other associations of note, which is in agreement with other research (Li et al, 2023; Naumann et al, 2012; Weigel et al, 2006). We could not confirm findings from other studies that severe NVP is associated with increased risk of low birth weight (Petry et al, 2018; Temming et al, 2014; Zhou et al, 1999) nor that NVP overall is inversely associated with low birth weight (Chortatos et al, 2015).…”