title: The relation of psychological stress to pregnancy outcome among women undergoing in-vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
abstract: A considerable literature has been accumulated regarding the relation of psychological factors to in-vitro fertilization outcome. However, study findings have been inconsistent, and the association between psychological stress and in-vitro fertilization outcomes is still unclear. The aim of the authors in this study was to examine the relation of infertility-related stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms to in-vitro fertilization outcome. The sample consisted of 160 women with fertility problems undergoing fertility treatment in a public hospital in Athens, Greece between November 2008 and July 2009. The relation of infertility-related stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms to in-vitro fertilization outcome was assessed by using hierarchical, sequential logistic regression, while controlling for the effects of relevant biomedical factors. After the embryo transfer, 41 women (26%) had a positive pregnancy outcome. Logistic regression analyses revealed that, controlling for biomedical factors (age, number of oocytes retrieved, and embryos transferred) infertility-specific stress (OR = 0.964, p = .011) and nonspecific anxiety (OR = 0.889, p = .006) were negatively associated with a positive pregnancy outcome after IVF. Psychological stress was negatively associated with in-vitro fertilization outcome, after controlling for biomedical variables. Fertility treatment protocols should consider including counselling interventions to potentially mitigate adverse effects of stress.
authors.affiliation: Elena Benizelou Hospital, Department of Midwifery, Technological Educational Institution of Athens, Athens, Greece. clairegourounti@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: Kleanthi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gourounti
authors.forename: Fotios
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Anagnostopoulos
authors.forename: Grigorios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vaslamatzis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000523:psychology*; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D007248:Infertility, Male; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology; D011581:Psychological Tests; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*