London : Women who give birth to babies using in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) are at increased risk of a chronic digestive disease, says a new study, reports IANS.
The researchers from Turkey compared two groups of women who had given birth to their first child at least one year earlier and found that those who had had IVF were three-times more likely to be diagnosed with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), than those who had conceived naturally.
GORD is a common condition in which acid from the stomach travels up into the oesophagus and causes heartburn, regurgitation and pain when swallowing.
The most common cause of GORD is a weakening of the lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) (the ring of muscle at the end of the oesophagus), allowing the stomach acid to leak up into the oesophagus and damage the lining.
For the study the researchers compared 156 first time mothers who conceived using IVF with an age-matched control group of women who had conceived naturally.
