Abstract

Purpose

To explore the psychological status of infertile women and men who had in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment interrupted or postponed because of the COVID-19 emergency.

Materials and methods

An electronic survey (NCT04395755) was e-mailed between April and June 2020 to couples whose IVF treatments have been interrupted or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The presence and severity of symptoms suggestive of anxiety and/or depression were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Subjects with preexisting psychiatric disorders were excluded.

Results

Overall, 524 out of 646 patients completed the survey. The prevalence of anxiety and/or depression feelings was significantly higher in women, mainly if aged more than 35 years and with a previous IVF attempt. The occurrence of these psychological symptoms was significantly associated with the time spent on COVID-19 related news per day and partner with evidence of psychological disorder and, in females, with a diagnosis of poor ovarian reserve, diagnosis of endometriosis or uterine fibroids.

Conclusions

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the infertile couples who should have undergone IVF treatment has been significant. IVF centers should systematically offer these couples adequate psychological counseling to improve mental health.

中文翻译：

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因 COVID-19 大流行而中断或推迟体外受精治疗的不孕患者的心理状况：一项横断面研究

摘要

目的

探讨因 COVID-19 紧急情况而中断或推迟体外受精 (IVF) 治疗的不育女性和男性的心理状况。

材料和方法

一项电子调查 (NCT04395755) 在 2020 年 4 月至 6 月期间通过电子邮件发送给因 COVID-19 大流行而导致 IVF 治疗中断或推迟的夫妇。使用广泛性焦虑症 7 (GAD-7) 和患者健康问卷 9 (PHQ-9) 评估提示焦虑和/或抑郁的症状的存在和严重程度。排除了先前存在精神疾病的受试者。

结果

总体而言，646 名患者中有 524 名完成了调查。女性的焦虑和/或抑郁情绪的发生率显着较高，主要是年龄超过 35 岁且曾尝试过体外受精。这些心理症状的发生与每天花在 COVID-19 相关新闻上的时间显着相关，并且与有心理障碍证据的伴侣以及在女性中被诊断为卵巢储备不良、子宫内膜异位症或子宫肌瘤的诊断显着相关。

结论

COVID-19 大流行对本应接受体外受精治疗的不孕夫妇产生了巨大的心理影响。试管婴儿中心应系统地为这些夫妇提供足够的心理咨询，以改善心理健康。