Stress and outcome success in IVF: the role of self-reports and endocrine variables

Smeenk, J.M.J.; Verhaak, C.M.; Vingerhoets, A.J.J.M.; Sweep, Fred C.G.J.; Merkus, J.M.W.M.; Willemsen, Suzan; Minnen, Agnes van; Straatman, Huub; Braat, D.D.M.

doi:10.1093/humrep/deh739

Cited by 121 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The remaining five studies failed to find any significant associations between cortisol and pregnancy outcomes (Lovely et al, 2003;Lewicka et al, 2003;Smeenk et al, 2005;Nouri et al, 2011;Csemiczky et al, 2000). These equivocal findings are in contrast to evidence from animal studies which have shown a more consistent relationship between elevated cortisol levels and impaired reproductive outcomes across a range of species (Dobson and Smith, 1995;Alejandro et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between hair and salivary cortisol and pregnancy in women undergoing IVF

Massey

Campbell

Raine‐Fenning

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A note on versions:The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the repository url above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.For more information, please contact eprints@nottingham.ac.uk These findings provide preliminary evidence that longer term systemic cortisol may influence reproductive outcomes; and in turn suggests that interventions to reduce cortisol prior to commencing IVF could improve treatment outcomes.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between hair and salivary cortisol and pregnancy in women undergoing IVF

Massey

Campbell

Raine‐Fenning

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…urine samples, mean ± = standard deviation cortisol levels for pregnant (222±121 μg/24 h.) and non-pregnant (215±131 μg/24 h.) women using assisted reproduction were similar although higher than levels for an egg donor group (171±40 μg/24 h.) [13]. Another study collected nocturnal urine and first morning voids across three IVF treatment cycle intervals; no significant differences were detected for cortisol in pregnant and non-pregnant women, but an inverse association was described for adrenaline [14]. In contrast, studies of couples conceiving unassisted reported inverse associations between pregnancy and psychological stress measured using salivary alpha-amylase as a biomarker, but not when using salivary cortisol [1,2].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Previous studies employing psychometric measures, biological stress measures, or both have reported varied, and often conflicting, results for associations between psychological stress and IVF outcomes [5,13,14,[23][24][25][26]. Infertility, as well as its treatment, can be considered significant chronic stressors, but the neuroendocrine components of this response and the extent to which environmental contaminants modulate this are unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We know of only two prior studies that have considered urine cortisol as a biomarker for stress as it relates to IVF outcomes [13,14], and to the best of our knowledge there exist no studies that have assessed the impact of toxic metals on associations between psychological stress and IVF outcomes. To address these data gaps, our primary aim was to further clarify associations between psychological stress, using urine as a biomarker, and IVF outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Urine cortisol concentration as a biomarker of stress is unrelated to IVF outcomes in women and men

Butts

Bloom

Frye

et al. 2014

J Assist Reprod Genet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Our primary objective was to assess associations between urine cortisol as a biomarker of psychological stress and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. A secondary objective was to assess associations between toxic metals and cortisol. Methods Urine and blood specimens were collected from 52 women and 28 male partners completing a first IVF procedure, on the day of oocyte retrieval. Urine cortisol was measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) were determined in blood and Cd in urine by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.Results No associations were indicated for cortisol with IVF outcomes in multivariable regression models adjusted for covariates. However, we detected positive linear associations for cortisol and urine Cd (β=9.96, 95%CI 1.52, 21.44) and blood Hg (β=1.44, 95%CI 0.31, 3.18). An exploratory stratified analysis suggested a potential inverse association between urine cortisol and oocyte fertilization among women with low, but not high blood Hg. Conclusion While limited, these preliminary data suggest that psychological stress may not play a major role in IVF outcomes, which therefore could be one less concern for couples and their clinicians. Our data also raise the possibility for toxic metals to modify associations between cortisol and IVF outcomes among women. However, these preliminary results require corroboration in an experimental animal model and confirmation in a larger, more definitive observational study.

show abstract

“…A number of studies have shown than stresssensitive hormones prolactin and cortisol are elevated in infertile women during IVF. 24,25 However, all these studies have compared the cortisol level during different phases of in vitro-fertilization treatment. Similary, Nepomnaschy et al measure urinary cortisol level and found that increased cortisol levels associated with a higher risk of early pregnancy loss 26 whereas Nelson measured total plasma cortisol level and found no relation to spontaneous abortion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress in women with Reproductive Failure

Bhandari

2016

Nepal j. obstet. gynaecol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims: The study aim to measure the level of stress in women with recurrent miscarriage and infertile women undergoing in-vitro fertilization treatment using psychological, endocrinological and immunological markers of stress.Methods: Group A（Recurrent Miscarriage Group, RM Group） of 20 women who had had at least three or more consecutive spontaneous abortions after negative biomedical diagnostic screening test; Group B (Infertility Group) of 40 infertile women undergoing in-vitro fertilization treatment after down-regulation with Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone (GnRH) agonist in a long protocol and Group C (Control Group) of 15 fertile women were asked to complete the stress questionnaires : the Perceived stress scale (PSS), the Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI), the Positive and Negative Scale (PANAS) and the SF-12 Health Survey. Blood samples were collected to measure natural killer (NK) cells and cortisol levels.Results: The score of stress questionnaires were significantly high in women with reproductive failure compared to fertile control group (p=0.023 for PSS; p=0.011 for FPI; p=0.013 for negative scale of PANAS) and the score of MCS from SF-12 Health Survey was significantly lower compared to control group (p=0.001). However, no significant differences were seen between women with RM and infertile women undergoing IVF treatment. Women with reproductive failure have increased number of peripheral NK cells compared to controls (p=0.000). No significant difference was found in the serum cortisol level between the women with reproductive failure and fertile women.Conclusions: Women with reproductive failure perceived higher levels of psychological stress. Level of stress in women with recurrent miscarriage is comparable to that of infertile women undergoing in-vitro fertilization treatment. Increased numbers of NK cells were found in the peripheral blood of women with reproductive failure.

show abstract

Stress and outcome success in IVF: the role of self-reports and endocrine variables

Abstract: The significant positive association of adrenaline concentration with pregnancy and with depression suggested that this adrenal hormone could be one of the links in the complex relationship between psychosocial stress and outcome after IVF/ICSI.

Cited by 121 publications

References 35 publications

Relationship between hair and salivary cortisol and pregnancy in women undergoing IVF

Relationship between hair and salivary cortisol and pregnancy in women undergoing IVF

Urine cortisol concentration as a biomarker of stress is unrelated to IVF outcomes in women and men

Stress in women with Reproductive Failure

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About