Stress-induced disorders of reproductive functions

Abstract

The review provides a pathophysiological analysis of what is currently known about the impact of acute and chronic stress on the functional state of the male and female reproductive systems. The relevance of research on the negative effects of stress on the reproductive system has increased significantly in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and even more so after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Stress disrupts gamete maturation, libido, sexual behavior, mating, fertilization, pregnancy and delivery. In the structure of the etiology of these disorders, psycho-social stress prevails. The characteristics of stress-induced disorders of the reproductive system have features depending on the lifestyle of future parents, as well as on the period of life, starting from the embryonic to the end of the reproductive age. The hypothalamicpituitary-adrenocortical and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal systems, as well as oxidative-nitrosative stress, play a leading role in the pathogenesis of stress-induced disorders of the reproductive system. Modern data on the pathogenesis of stress-induced reproductive disorders should be the basis of preventive and therapeutic strategies.