Women whose mothers suffered from a serious type of morning sickness, called hyperemesis gravidarum, are at triple the risk of the condition themselves.
Women whose mothers suffered from a serious type of morning sickness, called hyperemesis gravidarum, are at triple the risk of the condition themselves.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is characterised by excessive nausea and vomiting that occurs during pregnancy. The cause of this severe morning sickness is unknown, although it is suspected that there might be a genetic component. It occurs in up to two percent of pregnancies and causes near-constant nausea and vomiting, putting both mothers and infants at the risk of serious complications.
To investigate the factors that might affect the risk of severe morning sickness, researchers followed 544,087 pairs including a woman and her daughter and 399,777 pairs including a woman and her son. All the sons and daughters had children themselves.
It was found that the women whose mothers had severe morning sickness were thrice more likely to develop the condition in their own pregnancies. One percent of the daughters of women who hadn't suffered from severe morning sickness had the condition, compared to three percent of the daughters whose mothers had suffered through it. The risk for the partners of men whose mothers had the condition was 1.2 percent.
The above findings suggest a genetic link from mothers to daughters for severe morning sickness. It is also possible that environmental factors shared by mother and daughter such as nutrition or cigarette smoking could be involved.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is characterised by excessive nausea and vomiting that occurs during pregnancy. The cause of this severe morning sickness is unknown, although it is suspected that there might be a genetic component. It occurs in up to two percent of pregnancies and causes near-constant nausea and vomiting, putting both mothers and infants at the risk of serious complications.
To investigate the factors that might affect the risk of severe morning sickness, researchers followed 544,087 pairs including a woman and her daughter and 399,777 pairs including a woman and her son. All the sons and daughters had children themselves.
It was found that the women whose mothers had severe morning sickness were thrice more likely to develop the condition in their own pregnancies. One percent of the daughters of women who hadn't suffered from severe morning sickness had the condition, compared to three percent of the daughters whose mothers had suffered through it. The risk for the partners of men whose mothers had the condition was 1.2 percent.
The above findings suggest a genetic link from mothers to daughters for severe morning sickness. It is also possible that environmental factors shared by mother and daughter such as nutrition or cigarette smoking could be involved.
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