Anxiety and depression in women undergoing infertility treatment

Abstract

Infertility is a significant problem for millions of couples. Recently more attention is being paid to the relationship between infertility treatment with the use of Assisted Reproductive Techniques and the presence of mental disturbances, of which anxiety and depression are the most common. We present a review of recent studies evaluating the influence of anxiety and depression on fertility treatment outcomes and the effect of Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment on the presence of anxiety and depression among women. The studies show conflicting results concerning the effect of anxiety on Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment outcomes, but most reveal that Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment leads to an increased level of anxiety, especially in cases of treatment failure and longer durations of treatment. Most studies do not show a relationship between depression and Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment outcomes, but it seems that severe depression can lead to lower rates of pregnancy during infertility treatment with Assisted Reproductive Techniques. Moreover, women who become pregnant after Assisted Reproductive Techniques treatment seem to have an increased risk of depression in later life.

Keywords: anxiety; assisted reproductive techniques; depression; infertility.