Gender differences in factors associated with depression in infertility patients

Abstract

Aims To clarify gender differences in the demographic variables and infertility problems associated with depression among men and women undergoing infertility treatment. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods We surveyed 380 women and 360 men undergoing infertility treatment at the reproductive medicine center of a hospital in China's Ningxia Province from March ‐ September 2016. Results For women, ethnicity, the number of clinic visits, social concern, and sexual concern were factors linked with depression symptoms. For men, treatment cost pressure and social concern were significantly associated with depression symptoms. Conclusion Psychological counseling and intervention programs should be integrated into in‐vitro fertilization treatments and interventions should be targeted based on gender differences. Impact The provision of treatment‐related sexual knowledge by nurses is indispensable for infertile participants. Mental health policies should be developed to facilitate the implementation of psychological services. Psychological counseling and intervention programs should be integrated into in vitro fertilization treatment to help men and women with infertility cope with psychological distress.

Worldwide prevalence, risk factors and psychological impact of infertility among women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Different countries were involved. Five studies were conducted in Iran, 18–22 four in Turkey, 23–26 three in Italy, 27–29 three in America, 30–32 three in Sweden, 33–35 two in India, 36 37 two in the Netherlands, 38 39 one in Finland, 9 two in Africa, 40 41 one in Saudi Arabia, 42 one in Japan, 43 two in China 44 45 one in Pakistan 46 and two in Greece. 47 48 The smallest sample size was 87, 47 and the largest was 98 320.…”

Psychological variables in medically assisted reproduction: a systematic review

“…This indicates that women with live births had an increased risk of certified depression compared with women with no live births. This is because it is probably more difficult to manage a postpartum depression condition, the construction of parental competence, and taking care of a child, rather than experiencing infertility, mourning, and the loss of not having a child [ 38 ].…”

“…Also in this study, the maternal and paternal antenatal attachment progressively and steadily increased from the first trimester of pregnancy until 3 months post-partum. Many studies confirmed that the attachment increases as the pregnancy progresses, regardless of the conception type [ 38 , 46 , 52 , 53 ].…”

Individual and Relational Well-Being at the Start of an ART Treatment: A Focus on Partners’ Gender Differences

“…As pointed out in the Introduction, infertility and ART treatments represent critical and potentially stressful experiences, which can lead to individual and relational distress for both partners ( De Berardis et al, 2014 ; Koert and Daniluk, 2018 ). However, literature has highlighted gender differences in coping with these experiences and in their impact on individual and relational well-being ( Bayley et al, 2009 ; Davidovà and Pechovà, 2014 ; Ying et al, 2015 ; Bai et al, 2019 ). Given that several aspects could be the cause of these differences, the aim of the present study was to assess gender differences in couples undergoing medical treatment for conception, focusing on both partners’ individual and relational well-being as well as on psychological factors that could be considered as risk/protective factors for well-being.…”

“…The impact of infertility and ART has been well-documented in both women and men; in this direction, it is important to notice that important gender differences on individual and relational well-being have been reported (Bayley et al, 2009;Davidovà and Pechovà, 2014;Ying et al, 2015;Bai et al, 2019).…”