Abstract
While depression has been associated with infertility treatments, it is not routinely assessed in women prior to undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Findings are mixed regarding the degree to which women report depression prior to IVF. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine response profiles in women preparing for IVF and (2) compare responses to those of postpartum, primary care, and general population groups. Female IVF patients (n = 321; 19–45 years) completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) at their first visit. Clinical and demographic characteristics and incidence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and other depressive disorders (ODD) were examined. Overall score distributions of the IVF group were compared to those of local postpartum patients and published primary care and general populations. Demographic or clinical characteristics did not account for response differences within the IVF group. The IVF group had lower incidences of MDD and ODD than a PHQ-9 normative group. Women in the IVF group reported no depressive symptoms significantly more than postpartum, primary care, and general population groups. Women preparing to undergo IVF report fewer symptoms of depression than multiple comparison groups. Specific quality of life measures may be needed to assess distress in this population.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Final clinical diagnosis of MDD requires ruling out bipolar disorder and depressive symptoms better explained by bereavement, a general medical condition, or medication.
References
American Psychiatric Association (2000) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edn, text rev). Washington, DC
Anderson I, Thielen K, Nygaard E, Diderichsen F (2009) Social inequality in the prevalence of depressive disorders. J Epidemiol Commun Health 63:575–581
Ardenti R, Campari C, Agazzi L, La Sala GB (1999) Anxiety and perceptive functioning in infertile women during in-vitro fertilization: exploratory survey of an Italian sample. Hum Reprod 143:126–132
Beck A, Steer R, Brown G (1996) Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II, 2nd edn. Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX
Bennett C, Phelps K, Brain K, Hood JG (2007) A randomized controlled trial of a brief self-help coping intervention designed to reduce distress when awaiting genetic risk information. J Psychosom Res 63:59–64
Boivin J, Tafekaman JE, Tulandi T, Brender W (1995) Reactions to infertility based on extent of treatment failure. Fertil Steril 63:801–807
Boivin J, Andersson L, Skoog-Svanberg A, Hjelmstedt A, Collins A, Bergh T (1998) Psychological reactions during in-vitro fertilization: similar response pattern in husbands and wives. Hum Reprod 13:3262–3267
Boivin J, Bunting L, Collins JA, Nygren KG (2007) International estimates of infertility prevalence and treatment-seeking: potential need and demand for infertility medical care. Hum Reprod 22:1506–1512
Boivin J, Takefman J, Braverman A (2011) The fertility quality of life (FertiQoL) tool: development and general psychometric properties. Hum Reprod 26:2084–2091
Breyer BN, Smith JF, Shindel AW, Sharlip ID, Eisenberg ML (2010) The impact of infertility on family size in the USA: data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Hum Reprod 25:2360–2365
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2005) National Center for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Questionnaire (NHANES). Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/nhanes2005-2006/nhanes05_06.htm
Chandra A, Martinez GM, Mosher WD, Abma JC, Jones J (2005) Fertility, family planning, and reproductive health of U.S. women: data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. Vital Health Stat 23(25):1–160
Edelmann RJ, Connolly KJ, Bartlett H (1994) Coping strategies and psychological adjustment of couples presenting for IVF. J Psychosom Res 38:355–364
Fassino S, Piero A, Boggio S, Piccioni V, Garzaro L (2002) Anxiety, depression and anger suppression in infertile couples: a controlled study. Hum Reprod 17:2986–2994
Fauerbach J, Lawrence J, Haythornthwaite J, Richter L (2002) Coping with the stress of a painful medical procedure. Behav Res Ther 40:1003–1015
Friedler S, Glasser S, Azani L, Freedman LS, Raziel A, Strassburger D, Ron-El R, Lerner-Geva L (2011) The effect of medical clowning on pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Fertil Steril 95:2127–2130
Gilbody S, Richards D, Brealey S, Hewitt C (2007) Screening for depression in medical settings with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ): a diagnostic meta-analysis. J Gen Intern Med 22:1596–1602
Greil AL (1997) Infertility and psychological distress: a critical review of the literature. Soc Sci Med 45:1679–1704
Hammarberg K, Astbury J, Baker HWG (2001) Women’s experience of IVF: a follow-up study. Hum Reprod 16:374–383
Jorm AF, Windsor TD, Dear KBG, Antsey KJ, Christensen H, Rodgers B (2005) Age group differences in psychological distress: the role of psychological risk factors that vary with age. Psychol Med 35:1253–1263
Kisakye P, Akena WO, Kaye DK (2010) Pregnancy decisions among HIV-positive pregnant women in Mulago Hospital, Uganda. Cult Heal Sex 12:445–454
Kosidou K, Dalman C, Lundberg M, Hallqvist J, Isacsson G, Magnusson C (2011) Socioeconomic status and risk of psychological distress and depression in the stockholm public health cohort: a population-based study. J Affect Disord 134:160–167
Lampic C, Svanberg AS, Karlstrom P, Tyden T (2006) Fertility awareness, intentions concerning childbearing, and attitudes towards parenthood among female and male academics. Hum Reprod 21:558–564
Lee SH, Liu LC, Kuo PC, Lee MS (2011) Postpartum depression and correlated factors in women who received in vitro fertilization treatment. J Midwifery Womens Health 56:347–352
Newport F (2003) Desire to have children alive and well in America. The Gallup Poll. Accessed 2011
Newton CR, Hearn MT, Yuzpe AA (1990) Psychological assessment and follow-up after in vitro fertilization: assessing the impact of failure. Fertil Steril 54:879–886
Newton CR, Sherrard W, Glavac I (1999) The Fertility Problem Inventory: measuring perceived infertility-related stress. Fertil Steril 72:54–62
Peterson BD, Eifert GH (2011) Using acceptance and commitment therapy to treat infertility stress. Cogn Behav Pract 18:577–587
Peterson BD, Newton CR, Rosen KH (2003) Examining congruence between partners’ perceived infertility-related stress and its relationship to martial adjustment and depression in infertile couples. Fam Process 42:59–70
Schmidt L (2007) Effects of infertility insurance mandates on fertility. J Health Econ 26:431–446
Slade P, Emery J, Lieberman BA (1997) A prospective, longitudinal study of emotions and relationship in in-vitro fertilization treatment. Hum Reprod 12:183–190
Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB (1999) Validation and utility of a self-report version of PRIME-MD: the PHQ primary care study. Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders. Patient Health Questionnaire. JAMA 282:1737–1744
Spitzer RL, Williams JB, Kroenke K, Hornyak R, McMurray J (2000) Validity and utility of the PRIME-MD patient health questionnaire in assessment of 3000 obstetric-gynecologic patients: the PRIME-MD Patient Health Questionnaire Obstetrics-Gynecology Study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 183:759–769
The WHOQOL Group (1995) The World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL): position paper from the World Health Organization. Soc Sci Med 41:1403–1409
Tschuschke B, Hertenstein B, Arnold R, Bunjes D, Denzinger R, Kaechele H (2001) Associations between coping and survival time of adult leukemia patients receiving allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: results of a prospective study. J Psychosom Res 50:277–285
Verhaak CM, Smeenk JM, Evers AW, Kremer JA, Kraaimaat FW, Braat DD (2007) Women’s emotional adjustment to IVF: a systematic review of 25 years of research. Hum Reprod Update 13:27–36
Weissman MM, Bland RC, Canino GJ, Faravelli C, Greenwald S, Hwu HG, Joyce PR, Karam EG, Chung-Kyoon L, Lellouch J et al (1996) Cross-national epidemiology of major depression and bipolar disorder. JAMA 276:293–299
Whisman MA, Weinstock LM, Tolejko N (2006) Marriage and depression. In: Keyes CLM, Goodman SH (eds) Women and depression: a handbook for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 219–240
Wichman CL, Ehlers SL, Wichman SE, Weaver AL, Coddington C (2011) Comparison of multiple psychological distress measures between men and women preparing for in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril 95:717–721
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00737-014-0489-5.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lewis, A.M., Liu, D., Stuart, S.P. et al. Less depressed or less forthcoming? Self-report of depression symptoms in women preparing for in vitro fertilization. Arch Womens Ment Health 16, 87–92 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-012-0317-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-012-0317-8