Abstract
Introduction: Asthma, as a public health problem world-wide, seems to be significantly associated with GERD. GERD and its symptoms are also more prevalent in pregnant women, worsening by the increase in gestational age. This study aimed to evaluate GERD and its relation to asthma in pregnant women.
Methods: One-hundred and seventy three pregnant women (mean age, 28.8±5.3 years and mean gestational age, 24.8±9.2 weeks) were included. The diagnosis of asthma was made on the basis of the Guidelines of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP). As challenge tests are not recommended in pregnancy, a group of patients were classified as probable-asthmatics. They were the cases in whom symptoms and signs were suggestive of asthma but the spirometry was normal.
Results: Asthma was diagnosed in 37% of the included women and 26.6% were probable to have asthma, while 36.4% were non-asthmatics. GERD was present in 80.9% of the pregnant women. GERD was not significantly higher in asthmatic or probable asthmatic women compared to non-asthmatic ones, but in pregnant women who had asthma, GERD was significantly more severe compared to women who did not have asthma (p=0.02).
Conclusion: In this study, we observed a high prevalence of GERD in pregnant women. Although GERD was not higher in asthmatic or probable asthmatic pregnant women, it tended to be more severe in asthmatic cases. This points to the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of GERD in asthmatic pregnant women.
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