Effects of life events on infertility diagnosis: comparison with presumably fertile men and women.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the occurrence and degree of stress attributed to life events during childhood/adolescence and adulthood between individuals diagnosed with infertility and presumably fertile individuals, and to examine the effect of life events occurrence and stress levels on an infertility diagnosis.

BACKGROUND

Although stress has been explored as a consequence of the experience of infertility, its role as a predictor of this disease still lacks research, particularly regarding the use of adequate control groups composed of non-parents.

METHODS

The final sample had 151 infertile subjects (74 males and 77 females) and 225 presumably fertile participants (95 males and 130 females), who completed a questionnaire indicating occurrence (y/n) and degree of stress of life events (1-5) during childhood/adolescence and adulthood.

RESULTS

Significant differences regarding occurrence were found in seven stressful life events in men and in nine events in women, with infertile groups presenting higher occurrence than presumably fertile groups. Eleven stressful life events were rated differently by men and women regarding the degree of stress, with group significant differences observed in both directions. While most events were rated as more stressful by infertile men, infertile women reported less stress resulting from these events than presumably fertile women. After controlling for age, the degree of stress induced by life events in childhood/adolescence and adulthood were not significant predictors of infertility diagnosis, for both men and women.

CONCLUSION

The amount of stress associated with earlier or concurrent life events does not seem to be related with infertility. Further prospective research is needed to validate these findings.