PURPOSE: The study aimed to develop a mind-body therapeutic program and evaluate its effects on mitigating uncertainty, anxiety, and implantation rate of second-trial in vitro fertilization (IVF) women. METHODS: This study employed a nonequivalent control group nonsynchronized design. The conceptual framework and program content were developed from a preliminary survey of eight infertile women and the extensive review of the literature. Program focuses on three uncertainty-induced anxieties in infertile women: cognitive, emotional, and biological responses. To evaluate the effect of the intervention, the infertile women with unknown cause preparing for a second IVF treatment were sampled at convenience (26 experimental and 24 control). RESULTS: The experimental group in the study showed greater decrease in uncertainty and anxiety in premeasurements and postmeasurements than the control group did. However, no statistically significant differences in the implantation rate between groups were observed. CONCLUSION: This study is meaningful as the first intervention program for alleviating uncertainty and anxiety provided during the IVF treatment process. The positive effects of the mind-body therapeutic program in alleviating both uncertainty and anxiety have direct meaning for clinical applications.
Adult ; *Anxiety/psychology/therapy ; Case-Control Studies ; Embryo Implantation ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro/*psychology ; Humans ; Infertility, Female/*psychology ; Mind-Body Therapies/*methods ; Treatment Outcome ; *Uncertainty ; Women/*psychology

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation among coping style, social support, and negative emotion in Chinese infertile women. METHODS: A total of 211 infertile women was enrolled for this study. Participants completed questionnaires including Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), Selfrating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). RESULTS: The mean scores of the 2 dimensions of SCSQ for the infertile women were 20.18±5.43 (positive coping) and 10.19±3.83 (negative coping), respectively. The total mean score of SSRS was 38.95±6.87, and the mean score of 3 dimensions of SSRS were 22.63±4.15 (subjective support), 8.97±2.73 (objective support), and 7.35±1.87 (extent of using the support), respectively. The mean scores of SAS and SDS were 43.44±10.45 and 50.06±10.59, respectively. SAS scores were negatively correlated to the scores of positive coping, subjective support, objective support and extent of using the support (P<0.01) while positively correlated to the scores of negative coping (P<0.01). SDS score were negatively correlated to the scores of positive coping, subjective support, objective support, and extent of using the support (P<0.01). SEM analysis showed that positive coping had direct and positive effect on social support (β=0.49, P<0.01) while direct and negative effect on negative emotions (anxiety and depression, β=-0.27, P<0.01). Negative coping had direct and negative effect on social support (β=-0.21, P<0.01) while direct and positive effect on negative emotions (β=0.21, P<0.01). Positive coping and negative coping also had indirect effects on negative emotions through the pathway of social support, which had direct and negative effect on negative emotions (β=-0.21, P<0.01). CONCLUSION Coping styles have direct and indirect effects on negative emotions for the infertile women. As a mediator, social support regulates the relationship between coping styles and negative emotions. Using positive coping more frequently while using negative coping less frequently can alleviate the negative emotions of the infertile women through improving social support levels directly or indirectly.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; China ; Emotions ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; psychology ; Social Support ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anxiety status of infertile patients and the influential factors.
 METHODS: A questionnaire survey was performed in 306 infertile patients, who were consulted in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, and Productive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya from June, 2013 to June, 2014. A self-designed questionnaire and general information on the anxiety due to infertility were used in the investigation.
 RESULTS: The anxiety incidence for the participants was 61.4%. The single factor analysis showed that some information about the patients, including ages, marriage age, duration of infertility, number of reproductive technological intervention, infertility sources, the cost of treatment and the number of infertility clinic visits, significantly affected the anxiety of infertile patients (P<0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that the number of reproductive technological intervention and infertile causes was related to the anxiety of infertile patients. Among them, the number of reproductive intervention more than 6 times was the risk factor for the low score of anxiety while the infertile causes from both spouses were the protective factor for low scores of anxiety.
 CONCLUSION Infertility treatment are of complexity and long duration with the relatively low cure rate, which may cause and aggravate the patient's psychological burden, leading to the anxiety. As a result, infertility patients were the high-risk groups for anxiety symptoms.
Anxiety ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infertility, Female ; psychology ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test a model for quality of life among infertile women. This model was based primarily on the concept of the Fertility Quality of Life by Boivin et al. (2011) and the Infertility Resilience Model by Rindenour (2009). METHODS: Fifteen measurable variables were used to estimate quality of life. They included endogenous variables such as fertility quality of life and resilience, and exogenous variables such as infertility related stress, depression, marital adjustment, and family support. Data sets (n=203) used for analysis were collected in a general hospital which had, on average, 400 assisted reproductive technologies per month. RESULTS: The assessment of the modified model indicated acceptable fit, with chi2/d.f=2.07, GFI=.90, AGFI=.89, NFI=.89, CFI=.91, RMSEA=.07. Depression, infertility related stress, marital adjustment, resilience, and family support had direct influences on quality of life. CONCLUSION: The results of this study should contribute to the development of nursing intervention programs to enhance quality of life using factors that affect fertiQol (fertility quality of life) of infertile women.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female/*psychology ; *Quality of Life ; Questionnaires ; Resilience, Psychological ; Social Support ; Stress, Psychological

Objective: To investigate the benefits of nursing care service in the assisted reproduction clinic to self-cycle-management and self-efficiency of the outpatients with infertility. METHODS: We randomly divided 600 females preliminarily diagnosed with infertility into a control and an experimental group, 288 in the former and 285 in the latter group excluding those whose husbands had azoospermia. For the women patients of the experimental group, we conducted nursing care intervention concerning related knowledge, skills, diet, excise, medication, and psychology, by one-to-one consultation, individualized or group communication, establishing files, telephone follow-up, and wechat guidance. After 3 months of intervention, we compared the compliance of medical visits, effectiveness of cycle management, sense of self-efficiency, satisfaction, and anxiety score between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: In comparison with the controls, the patients of the experimental group showed significantly better knowledge about assisted reproduction and higher effectiveness of self-cycle-management, self-efficiency, and satisfaction (P <0.05), but a markedly lower degree of anxiety (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS Nursing care service in the assisted reproduction clinic can improve the compliance of medical visits, effectiveness of self-cycle-management, self-efficiency, and satisfaction and reduce the anxiety of the patients.
Anxiety ; prevention & control ; Diet ; Exercise ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Infertility ; nursing ; psychology ; Menstrual Cycle ; Patient Compliance ; Patient Satisfaction ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; psychology ; Self Efficacy

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence of depression and its etiological factors in patients with cryptorchidism 6-16 years after surgical treatment.

METHODSUsing Self-Rating Depression Scale and Correlation Factor Questionnaire, we investigated the incidence of depression symptoms among 70 patients with cryptorchidism 6-16 years after surgical treatment and another 70 healthy males as controls, and analyzed the related factors of depression symptoms.

RESULTSThe incidence rate of depression symptoms was 50% in the cryptorchidism patients postoperatively, extremely significantly higher than 4.3% in the control group (χ2 = 23.5, P <0.01). Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the main risk factors of depression symptoms were worries about natural fertility (F = 15.8992, P <0.01), dissatisfaction with scrotal appearance (F = 4.6003, P <0.05), and the status of being married (F = 4.1002, P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONSymptoms of depression often occur in cryptorchidism patients after operation, and the major etiological factors are infertility, dissatisfaction with scrotal appearance, and the status of being married.

Adult ; Body Image ; psychology ; Case-Control Studies ; Cryptorchidism ; psychology ; surgery ; Depression ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infertility, Male ; psychology ; Male ; Marital Status ; Multivariate Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Scrotum ; pathology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the environmental and psychological risk factors for female infertility and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of female infertility.

METHODSIn a hospital-based case-control study, a self-designed questionnaire was used to survey the cases and controls (1:1) with nation and age (± 2 years) as matching variables. Univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression models were employed to analyze the datasets.

RESULTSThe univariate analysis showed that female infertility was related to the following factors: eating fried foods, alcohol consumption, smoking, staying up late, perm, housing decoration, contact with heavy metals, exposure to radiation, contact with pesticides, working in hot environment, mental stress, uneasiness, helplessness, and despair. The multivariate analysis showed that staying up late (OR = 2.937), housing decoration (OR = 2.963), exposure to radiation (OR = 2.506), contact with pesticides (OR = 2.908), and mental stress (OR = 4.101) were the main risk factors for female infertility. Furthermore, there was an interaction between staying up late and mental stress.

CONCLUSIONFemale infertility is caused by multiple factors including staying up late, housing decoration, exposure to radiation, contact with pesticides, and mental stress, and there is an interaction between staying up late and mental stress.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Environmental Exposure ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; chemically induced ; etiology ; psychology ; Logistic Models ; Multivariate Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Stress, Psychological ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common metabolic and endocrine disorder in women. However, there is no agreement concerning how to diagnose and treat PCOS worldwide. Three practice guidelines or consensuses, including consensus from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)/the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in Rotterdam, diagnosis criteria and consensus in China, and clinical practice guideline from the Endocrine Society (ES) in the United States are widely recognized. The present paper may provide some guidance for clinical practice based on a comparative analysis of the above three practice guidelines or consensuses.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Consensus ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperandrogenism ; etiology ; Infertility, Female ; etiology ; Insulin Resistance ; Menstrual Cycle ; Obesity ; etiology ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; complications ; diagnosis ; psychology ; therapy ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was to determine the factors affecting the psychosocial problems of infertile Turkish women and to identify their coping strategies. METHODS: This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach. We conducted in-depth interviews to examine the psychosocial problems faced by infertile Turkish women. The participants were selected in two stages. In the first stage, 118 women diagnosed with primary infertility completed a personal information form and the Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI). In the second stage, in-depth interviews (lasting 45-90 minutes) were conducted with 24 (age 20 to 41 years) infertile women randomly selected from the groups formed according to their FPI global stress levels determined in Stage 1. Content analysis was used to examine the qualitative data. RESULTS: The results comprised nine main themes regarding the psychosocial problems encountered by women and the methods used to overcome these problems. These included the meaning attributed to being childless, negative self-concept, perceived social pressure, perceived social support, psychological symptoms, social withdrawal and isolation, spiritual coping, cherishing hope/restructuring life, and adopting traditional methods. Social pressure and stigma were common. Infertility was found to negatively affect the participants' self-perception and view of life. The women used spiritual methods for overcoming stress and avoiding society, as well as traditional fertility remedies. CONCLUSIONS: Infertile women suffer from various psychosocial problems because of infertility and they adopt emotion-focused coping methods.
*Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female/*psychology ; Qualitative Research ; Self Concept ; Social Behavior ; Social Stigma ; Social Support ; *Stress, Psychological ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Turkey ; Young Adult

AIMTo evaluate the association between selected potential socio-demographic and behavioral risk factors and infertility in Nigerian men.

METHODSThere were two groups in this study. One group consisted of 150 men with proven male infertility, and the other consisted of 150 fertile men with normal semen parameters. Both were matched for age, place of residence and key socio-demographic variables. They were compared for sexual history, past medical and surgical history, past exposures to sexually transmitted infections and treatment, past and current use of drugs as well as smoking and alcohol intake history.

RESULTSInfertile men were significantly more likely than fertile men to report having experienced penile discharge, painful micturition and genital ulcers, less likely to seek treatment for these symptoms and more likely to seek treatment with informal sector providers. Multivariate analysis showed that male infertility was significantly associated with bacteria in semen cultures, self-reporting of previous use of traditional medications and moderate to heavy alcohol intake, but not with smoking and occupational types.

CONCLUSIONINFERTILITY is associated with various proxies of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and poor healthcare-seeking behavior for STIs in Nigerian men.

Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; ethnology ; Case-Control Studies ; Culture ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; ethnology ; microbiology ; psychology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nigeria ; epidemiology ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care ; ethnology ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors ; Risk-Taking ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; complications ; ethnology ; psychology ; Smoking ; ethnology