The emotional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in women facing infertility

Galhardo, Ana; Carolino, Naír; Monteiro, Bárbara; Cunha, Marina

doi:10.1080/13548506.2021.1922721

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In contrast with our findings, Galhardo et al 21 found that the levels of depression and anxiety among subfertile women during the COVID‐19 pandemic remained unchanged, and they even reported a reduced level of stress in this population. The reason for this discrepancy may be due to the fact that the Iranian government started its vaccination program almost 1 year after the beginning of the pandemic, and this may have caused emotional distress.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of depression, stress, and anxiety among women with subfertility during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional study in Ahvaz, Iran

Afshari

Abedi

Sarizadeh

et al. 2022

Health Science Reports

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Background and Aims Some studies have shown that the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression have increased among subfertile women during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study was designed to evaluate the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among subfertile women during the COVID‐19 pandemic in southwest Iran. Method This cross‐sectional study was conducted on 190 subfertile women from two infertility centers (Imam Khomeini and Jihad) in Ahvaz, Iran. A demographic questionnaire, and the depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS‐21) were used to assess the level of depression, anxiety, and stress of subfertile women during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Data collection started in August 2021 and was completed in December 2021. Mean ± SD or N (%), and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. Result Results showed that most women experienced moderate depression, anxiety, and stress. However, the percentage of women who experienced very severe anxiety was more than that for depression and stress, and 75 (39.5%) of women had all three disorders together. Anxiety was 0.176 units lower in women who were not affected by COVID‐19 (95% CI: −5.781 to −0.629). The depression was 0.216 units lower in women with good and moderate economic status (95% CI: −5.603 to −1.178). Conclusion The results of this study showed that most studied women experienced moderate depression, anxiety, and stress, but the percentages of very severe anxiety were more than that for depression and stress. Poor economic status was also a strong predictor of depression among subfertile women. Infection with COVID‐19 increased the level of anxiety. Careful evaluation of subfertile women for mental health is recommended especially during crises such as the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of depression, stress, and anxiety among women with subfertility during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional study in Ahvaz, Iran

Afshari

Abedi

Sarizadeh

et al. 2022

Health Science Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…To the best of our knowledge, numerous studies have examined women with infertility (Table 3 ). Ceasing infertility treatment was the primary problem affecting patients [ 27 , 41 , 42 ], while changes in working environment and style [ 43 ], quarantine [ 44 ], and financial concerns [ 45 ] increase the psychological burden of patients. Negative emotions were found to reduce the quality of couples’ relationships [ 28 ] and lower expectations of future pregnancy [ 46 ] during the pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological status of infertile men during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in China: a cross-sectional investigation

Zhang

Yang

Zhang

et al. 2023

Basic Clin. Androl.

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Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has had a widespread and profound impact on people’s mental health. The factors associated with mental symptoms among men diagnosed with infertility, a disease closely related to psychological conditions, remain unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk factors associated with mental symptoms among infertile Chinese men during the pandemic. Results A total of 4,098 eligible participants were recruited in this cross-sectional, nationwide study, including 2,034 (49.6%) with primary infertility and 2,064 (50.4%) with secondary infertility. The prevalence of mental health conditions was 36.3%, 39.6%, and 6.7% for anxiety, depression, and post-pandemic stress, respectively. Sexual dysfunction is associated with a higher risk with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 1.40 for anxiety, 1.38 for depression, and 2.32 for stress. Men receiving infertility drug therapy displayed a higher risk for anxiety (adjusted OR, 1.31) and depression (adjusted OR, 1.28) symptoms, while those receiving intrauterine insemination had a lower risk of anxiety (adjusted OR, 0.56) and depression (adjusted OR, 0.55) symptoms. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant psychological impact on infertile men. Several psychologically vulnerable populations were identified, including individuals with sexual dysfunction, respondents receiving infertility drug therapy, and those experiencing control measures for COVID-19. The findings provide a comprehensive profile of the mental health status of infertile Chinese men during the COVID-19 outbreak and provide potential psychological intervention strategies.

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“…The heterogeneity was not signi cant between subgroups (P = 0.64) (Table 2). (2021) found no signi cant differences regarding depression scores between infertile patients with treatment suspension during the coronavirus pandemic and an infertility reference sample [25], Dillard et al ( 2022) reported that depressive symptoms were greater during the pandemic [39] and Biviá-Roig et al…”

Section: Subgroup Analysis Of the Prevalence Of Anxietymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESRHE) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), also recommended the suspension of new ART cycles [21,22]. For infertile couples, especially those with poor prognoses, "time" is a crucial element, and the treatment suspension can harm their mental health [19,[23][24][25].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Treatment Suspension Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Mental Health of Infertile Patients: A Systematic Review andMeta-Analysis

Iranifard,

Yas,

Ghezelhesari

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background Access to fertility treatments is considered a reproductive right, but because of the quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic most infertility treatments were suspended, which might affect the psychological and emotional health of infertile patients. Therefore, this study was conducted to review the relationship between treatment suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic and the mental health of infertile patients. Methods This study was conducted based on the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guideline. The ISI, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane library databases were searched by two independent researchers, without time limitation until 31 December 2022. All observational studies regarding the mental health of infertile patients facing treatment suspension including anxiety, depression, and stress were included in the study. Qualitative studies, editorials, brief communications, commentaries, conference papers, guidelines, and studies with no full text were excluded. Quality assessment was carried out using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale by two researchers, independently. The random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of mental health problems. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis were used to confirm the sources of heterogeneity. Results Out of 681 studies, 21 studies with 5901 patients including 5306 female and 504 male infertile patients were systematically reviewed, from which 16 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results of all pooled studies showed that the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress in female patients was 48.4% (95% CI 34.8–62.3), 42% (95% CI 26.7–59.4), and 55% (95% CI 45.4–65), respectively. Additionally, 64.4% (95% CI 50.7–76.1) of patients wished to resume their treatments despite the coronavirus pandemic. Conclusion Treatment suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic negatively affected the mental health of infertile patients. It is important to maintain the continuity of fertility care, with special attention paid to mental health of infertile patients, through all the possible measures even during a public health crisis.

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The emotional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in women facing infertility

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

Evaluation of depression, stress, and anxiety among women with subfertility during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional study in Ahvaz, Iran

Evaluation of depression, stress, and anxiety among women with subfertility during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional study in Ahvaz, Iran

Psychological status of infertile men during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in China: a cross-sectional investigation

The Relationship between Treatment Suspension Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Mental Health of Infertile Patients: A Systematic Review andMeta-Analysis

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