title: Suicidal risk among infertile women undergoing in-vitro fertilization: Incidence and risk factors.
abstract: Despite the fact that depression and other emotional distress are well documented in infertile women, little is known about the relationship between infertility and suicidal risk. The aim of this cross sectional study was to examine the rate of suicide risk (suicidal ideation/suicidal attempts) among 106 infertile women visiting Infertility and In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Hospital Unit, and to identify the demographic, medical and clinical correlates to suicidal risk. The incidence of suicide risk was 9.4%. Suicidal women were more likely to be childless or had fewer children and experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms. In addition, they reported more frequently on denial, social withdrawal and self-blame coping strategies compared to participants without suicidal risk. A multiple logistic regression model revealed that being childless, using non-positive reappraisal and exhibiting depressive symptoms were significant predictors of suicide risk in the future. These results suggest that routine assessment of suicidal risk and depression should be provided for infertile women in the course of IVF. Furthermore, future interventions should focus on helping them acquire different emotions regulation strategies and provide alternative skills for positive coping.
authors.affiliation: School of Behavioral Sciences, the Academic College of Tel-Aviv yaffo (MTA), Israel. Electronic address: shani.gimpel@icloud.com.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shani
authors.affiliation: School of Behavioral Sciences, the Academic College of Tel-Aviv yaffo (MTA), Israel. Electronic address: Yelena.stukalin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Stukalina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yelena
authors.affiliation: IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba 44281, Israel. Electronic address: reutsin@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ben Kimhy
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Reut
authors.affiliation: IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba 44281, Israel. Electronic address: adrian@netvision.net.il.
authors.forename: Shulman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adrian
authors.affiliation: School of Behavioral Sciences, the Academic College of Tel-Aviv yaffo (MTA), Israel. Electronic address: samihamd@mta.ac.il.
authors.forename: Hamdan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sami
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D016015:Logistic Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Depression; IVF; Infertility; Suicide risk