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

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.