Investigating the association between infertility and psychological distress using Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH)

Starrs, A. M. et al. Accelerate progress-sexual and reproductive health and rights for all: Report of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission. Lancet 391, 2642–2692. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(18)30293-9 (2018).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

WHO. WHO fact sheet on infertility. Glob. Reprod. Health 6, e52. https://doi.org/10.1097/grh.0000000000000052 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Sun, H. et al. Global, regional, and national prevalence and disability-adjusted life-years for infertility in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: Results from a global burden of disease study, 2017. Aging (Albany NY) 11, 10952–10991. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102497 (2019).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Evers, J. L. H. Female subfertility. Lancet 360, 151–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)09417-5 (2002).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Herbert, D. L., Lucke, J. C. & Dobson, A. J. Infertility, medical advice and treatment with fertility hormones and/or in vitro fertilisation: A population perspective from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Aust. N. Z. J. Public Health 33, 358–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-6405.2009.00408.x (2009).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Gilbert, E. W., Boyle, J. A., Campbell, S. K. & Rumbold, A. R. Infertility in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: A cause for concern?. Aust. N. Z. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. 60, 479–481. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajo.13158 (2020).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Schanz, S. et al. Long-term life and partnership satisfaction in infertile patients: A 5-year longitudinal study. Fertil. Steril. 96, 416–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.05.064 (2011).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Greil, A. L., Slauson-Blevins, K. & McQuillan, J. The experience of infertility: A review of recent literature. Sociol. Health Illn. 32, 140–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01213.x (2010).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Gonzalez, L. O. Infertility as a transformational process: A framework for psychotherapeutic support of infertile women. Issues Ment. Health Nurs. 21, 619–633. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840050110317 (2000).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Chachamovich, J. R. et al. Investigating quality of life and health-related quality of life in infertility: A systematic review. J. Psychosom. Obstet. Gynecol. 31, 101–110. https://doi.org/10.3109/0167482X.2010.481337 (2010).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Jacob, M. C., McQuillan, J. & Greil, A. L. Psychological distress by type of fertility barrier. Hum. Reprod. 22, 885–894. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/del452 (2007).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Klemetti, R., Raitanen, J., Sihvo, S., Saarni, S. & Koponen, P. Infertility, mental disorders and well-being—A nationwide survey. Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. 89, 677–682. https://doi.org/10.3109/00016341003623746 (2010).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Biringer, E., Howard, L. M., Kessler, U., Stewart, R. & Mykletun, A. Is infertility really associated with higher levels of mental distress in the female population? Results from the North-Trøndelag Health Study and the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. J. Psychosom. Obstet. Gynecol. 36, 38–45 (2015).

Article 

Google Scholar 

McQuillan, J., Greil, A. L., White, L. & Jacob, M. C. Frustrated fertility: Infertility and psychological distress among women. J. Marriage Fam. 65, 1007–1018 (2003).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Berg, B. J. & Wilson, J. F. Psychiatric morbidity in the infertile population: A reconceptualization. Fertil. Steril. 53, 654–661 (1990).

CAS 
Article 

Google Scholar 

Fisher, J. R. W., Baker, G. H. W. & Hammarberg, K. Long-term health, well-being, life satisfaction, and attitudes toward parenthood in men diagnosed as infertile: Challenges to gender stereotypes and implications for practice. Fertil. Steril. 94, 574–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.01.165 (2010).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Oddens, B. J., den Tonkelaar, I. & Nieuwenhuyse, H. Psychosocial experiences in women facing fertility problems—A comparative survey. Hum. Reprod. 14, 255–261. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/14.1.255 (1999).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Graham, M. L., Hill, E., Shelley, J. M. & Taket, A. R. An examination of the health and wellbeing of childless women: A cross-sectional exploratory study in Victoria, Australia. BMC Womens Health 11, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-11-47 (2011).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Maximova, K. & Quesnel-Vallée, A. Mental health consequences of unintended childlessness and unplanned births: Gender differences and life course dynamics. Soc. Sci. Med. 68, 850–857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.11.012 (2009).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Holton, S., Fisher, J. & Rowe, H. Motherhood: Is it good for women’s mental health?. J. Reprod. Infant Psychol. 28, 223–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646830903487359 (2010).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Widge, A. Sociocultural attitudes towards infertility and assisted reproduction in India. Curr. Pract. Controv. Assist. Reprod. 60, 74 (2002).

Google Scholar 

Khan, A. R., Iqbal, N. & Afzal, A. Impact of Infertility on mental health of women. Int. J. Indian Psychol. 7(1), 804–809. https://doi.org/10.25215/0701.089 (2019).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Ramezanzadeh, F. et al. A survey of relationship between anxiety, depression and duration of infertility. BMC Womens Health 4, 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-4-9 (2004).

Article 
PubMed 
PubMed Central 

Google Scholar 

Hasanpoor-Azghdy, S. B., Simbar, M. & Vedadhir, A. The emotional-psychological consequences of infertility among infertile women seeking treatment: Results of a qualitative study. Iran. J. Reprod. Med. 12, 131 (2014).

PubMed 
PubMed Central 

Google Scholar 

Herbert, D. L., Lucke, J. C. & Dobson, A. J. Depression: An emotional obstacle to seeking medical advice for infertility. Fertil. Steril. 94, 1817–1821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.10.062 (2010).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Mishra, G. D., Chung, H.-F. & Dobson, A. J. The current state of women’s health in Australia: Informing the development of the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030. (Canberra, Australia, 2018).

Lee, C. et al. Cohort profile: The Australian Longitudinal Study on women’s health. Int. J. Epidemiol. 34, 987–991. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyi098 (2005).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Holden, L. et al. Mental Health: Findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2013).

Google Scholar 

Rumpf, H.-J., Meyer, C., Hapke, U. & John, U. Screening for mental health: Validity of the MHI-5 using DSM-IV Axis I psychiatric disorders as gold standard. Psychiatry Res. 105, 243–253 (2001).

CAS 
Article 

Google Scholar 

Holmes, W. C. A short, psychiatric, case-finding measure for HIV seropositive outpatients: Performance characteristics of the 5-item mental health subscale of the SF-20 in a male, seropositive sample. Med. Care 36, 237–243. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-199802000-00012 (1998).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Silveira, E. et al. Performance of the SF-36 health survey in screening for depressive and anxiety disorders in an elderly female Swedish population. Qual. Life Res. 14, 1263–1274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-004-7753-5 (2005).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Andresen, E. M., Malmgren, J. A., Carter, W. B. & Patrick, D. L. Screening for depression in well older adults: Evaluation of a short form of the CES-D. Am. J. Prev. Med. 10, 77–84 (1994).

CAS 
Article 

Google Scholar 

Goldberg, D., Bridges, K., Duncan-Jones, P. & Grayson, D. Detecting anxiety and depression in general medical settings. BMJ 297, 897–899. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.297.6653.897 (1988).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 
PubMed Central 

Google Scholar 

Remoteness, M. Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) (Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care 2, I, 2001).

Google Scholar 

Ghisletta, P. & Spini, D. An introduction to generalized estimating equations and an application to assess selectivity effects in a longitudinal study on very old individuals. J. Educ. Behav. Stat. 29, 421–437. https://doi.org/10.3102/10769986029004421 (2004).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Costanza, M. C. & Afifi, A. Comparison of stopping rules in forward stepwise discriminant analysis. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 74, 777–785 (1979).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Ezzell, W. The impact of infertility on women’s mental health. N. C. Med. J. 77, 427. https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.77.6.427 (2016).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Agostini, F. et al. Assisted reproductive technology treatments and quality of life: A longitudinal study among subfertile women and men. J. Assist. Reprod. Genet. 34, 1307–1315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-1000-9 (2017).

Article 
PubMed 
PubMed Central 

Google Scholar 

Daniluk, J. C. Reconstructing their lives: A longitudinal, qualitative analysis of the transition to biological childlessness for infertile couples. J. Couns. Dev. 79, 439–449. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2001.tb01991.x (2001).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Riggs, D. W. & Bartholomaeus, C. The desire for a child among a sample of heterosexual Australian couples. J. Reprod. Infant Psychol. 34, 442–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2016.1222070 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Wilkes, S. & Fankam, F. Review of the management of female infertility: A primary care perspective. Clin. Med. Rev. Women’s Health 2010, 11–23 (2010).

Google Scholar 

Tabong, P.T.-N. & Adongo, P. B. Infertility and childlessness: a qualitative study of the experiences of infertile couples in Northern Ghana. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 13, 72. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-13-72 (2013).

Article 
PubMed 
PubMed Central 

Google Scholar 

Sembuya, R. Mother or nothing: the agony of infertility. Bull. World Health Organ. 88, 881–882 (2010).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Stellar, C., Garcia-Moreno, C., Temmerman, M. & van der Poel, S. A systematic review and narrative report of the relationship between infertility, subfertility, and intimate partner violence. Int. J. Gynecol. Obstet. 133, 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2015.08.012 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Schmidt, L., Christensen, U. & Holstein, B. The social epidemiology of coping with infertility. Hum. Reprod. 20, 1044–1052. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deh687 (2005).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Galhardo, A., Cunha, M. & Pinto-Gouveia, J. Psychological aspects in couples with infertility. Sexologies 20, 224–228 (2011).

Article 

Google Scholar 

Chambers, G. M., Hoang, V. & Illingworth, P. J. Socioeconomic disparities in access to ART treatment and the differential impact of a policy that increased consumer costs. Hum. Reprod. 28, 3111–3117. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/det302 (2013).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Peterson, B. D. et al. The longitudinal impact of partner coping in couples following 5 years of unsuccessful fertility treatments. Hum. Reprod. 24, 1656–1664. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dep061 (2009).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Scott, K. M. et al. Obesity and mental disorders in the general population: Results from the world mental health surveys. Int. J. Obes. (Lond.) 32, 192–200. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803701 (2008).

CAS 
Article 

Google Scholar 

Boutari, C. et al. The effect of underweight on female and male reproduction. Metabolism 107, 154229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2020.154229 (2020).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Talmor, A. & Dunphy, B. Female obesity and infertility. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Obstet. Gynaecol. 29, 498–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2014.10.014 (2015).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Sharma, R., Biedenharn, K. R., Fedor, J. M. & Agarwal, A. Lifestyle factors and reproductive health: Taking control of your fertility. Reprod. Biol. Endocrinol. 11, 66. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7827-11-66 (2013).

Article 
PubMed 
PubMed Central 

Google Scholar 

Esmaeilzadeh, S., Delavar, M. A., Basirat, Z. & Shafi, H. Physical activity and body mass index among women who have experienced infertility. Arch. Med. Sci. 9, 499–505. https://doi.org/10.5114/aoms.2013.35342 (2013).

Article 
PubMed 
PubMed Central 

Google Scholar 

Logan, S., Perz, J., Ussher, J. M., Peate, M. & Anazodo, A. Systematic review of fertility-related psychological distress in cancer patients: Informing on an improved model of care. Psychooncology 28, 22–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4927 (2019).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Direkvand-Moghadam, A., Delpisheh, A. & Khosravi, A. Epidemiology of female infertility; A review of literature. Biosci. Biotechnol. Res. Asia 10, 559–567. https://doi.org/10.13005/bbra/1165 (2013).

CAS 
Article 

Google Scholar 

Ying, L. Y., Wu, L. H. & Loke, A. Y. Gender differences in experiences with and adjustments to infertility: A literature review. Int. J. Nurs. Stud. 52, 1640–1652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2015.05.004 (2015).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Himelein, M. J. & Thatcher, S. S. Polycystic ovary syndrome and mental health: A review. Obstet. Gynecol. Surv. 61, 723–732. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ogx.0000243772.33357.84 (2006).

Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 

Brutocao, C. et al. Psychiatric disorders in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Endocrine 62, 318–325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-018-1692-3 (2018).

CAS 
Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar