Affective temperaments show stronger association with infertility treatment success compared to somatic factors, highlighting the role of personality focused interventions

Abstract

Infertility has a multifactorial background, where, besides somatic factors, psychological contributors also play a role in development and outcome. While affective temperaments have been associated with development, course, and outcome as well as treatment success in various somatic conditions, their association with infertility and its treatment has not been investigated so far. The purpose of our retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the influence of affective temperaments on fertility treatment outcomes. Among 578 women who underwent infertility treatment in an Assisted Reproduction Centre in Budapest, Hungary, treatment success, detailed medical history, and demographic parameters were recorded, and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A) was administered. Possible predictors of assisted reproduction outcome were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression models, followed by a receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis in order to define ideal affective temperament cut-off values for clinical applicability. Aside from age, BMI, and previous miscarriage, cyclothymic scores > 4 (OR = 0.51 CI 0.35–0.74, p < 0.001), depressive scores > 9 (OR = 0.59 CI 0.4–0.87, p = 0.009) and anxious scores > 9 (OR = 0.45 CI 0.31–0.66, p < 0.001) significantly decreased the odds of clinical pregnancy by 49%, 41% and 55%, respectively. Irritable and hyperthymic temperaments, as well as other somatic and socio-economic factors had no effect on infertility treatment outcomes. The results suggest that affective temperaments may be related to the outcome of infertility treatments. Thus, screening for affective temperaments may help identify high-risk patient groups and offer patient-tailored treatment, which may increase the chances of a successful pregnancy and live birth for women undergoing IVF treatment.

Association between depression and infertility risk among American women aged 18–45 years: the mediating effect of the NHHR

“…Stressful events, such as the pandemic, have notably impacted women, resulting in diminished sexual satisfaction, reduced desire for pregnancy, and increased incidence of menstrual disorders [ 26 , 27 ]. Moreover, depression and anxiety have direct adverse effects on cyclical sex hormone secretion, endometrial growth, and the clinical pregnancy rate in infertile patients and are closely correlated with the success of infertility treatment [ 28 , 29 ]. The outcomes of a Mendelian randomization (MR) study also supported the findings of this research [ 30 ].…”

Impact of Patient Personality on Adherence to Oral Anti-Cancer Medications: An Opportunity? (Preprint)

“…Many patient-related factors can contribute to non-adherence and non-persistence to prescribed therapies, including health literacy [8], social determinants of health including food insecurity and housing instability [9], out-of-pocket medication costs [10,11], patient age [12,13], number of prescribed medications [14], and medication side effects [15][16][17]. However, the impact of patient personality has remained relatively underexplored [18][19][20][21][22]. In this viewpoint, we review literature on the impact of personality on medication adherence and argue that developing patient education that is tailored towards each individual patients' personality may improve anti-cancer medication.…”