Offspring of women who experience hyperemesis gravidarum are more likely to develop  anxiety disorder and sleep problems, a systematic review shows.

The extreme form of morning sickness is also associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer in male offspring in middle adulthood, the Dutch researchers have found.

In a systematic review and meta-analysis, the University of Amsterdam-led team examined data from 19 studies including some 1.8 million offspring, of whom nearly 37,000 (2%) were born to women who experienced hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).

Overall, the pregnancy complication was associated with small increases in adverse health outcomes in offspring, mainly neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders, the authors reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.