Helicobacter pylori infection and the occurrence and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the possible role of Helicobacter pylori infection in the occurrence and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms during pregnancy in a large group of mothers after delivery.

STUDY

DESIGN

Between November 2000 and November 2001, mothers were recruited after delivery at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University of Ulm. Present H pylori infection was determined by (13)C-urea breath test. Associations between gastrointestinal symptoms during pregnancy (sickness, vomiting, increased saliva production, heartburn) and H pylori infection were quantified by crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% CI.

RESULTS

Twenty-three percent of the 898 mothers had a current H pylori infection. Eighty-four percent of the mothers reported at least one of the evaluated gastrointestinal symptoms, and 30% of the mothers reported at least one physician visit because of the severity of these symptoms. None of the analyzed gastrointestinal symptoms showed an association to a current H pylori infection after an adjustment for the covariates, even after a virulence marker of H pylori infection was taken into account.

CONCLUSION

This study does not support an involvement of H pylori infection in the generation of gastrointestinal symptoms during pregnancy.