Women with fertility disorders are more susceptible to mental illness

Core Tip: A Danish study found that women who have no child due to childbirth disorders have a higher probability of having multiple mental illnesses than women who have had children. This shows that having a child can help prevent mental illness.

Although there have been many small sample studies suggesting that infertile women are more likely to have psychological distress and that the incidence of anxiety, mood disorders, and various depressive symptoms is higher, very few studies are conducted within a wide range. Expanded. Recently, Danish researchers conducted the largest survey ever, analyzed a large number of women with fertility problems, and found that women who had never had fertility after the first infertility check were more likely than women who later had at least one child. It is more likely to be admitted to hospital because of mental problems.

The results of this study were presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology on July 1st. The main investigator was Pablo Fieskov, an epidemiologist at the Cancer Research Center in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Most of the previous studies were based on files given by a single clinic, or the patient's self-report on mental problems. But this large survey covered 98,737 women across Denmark who had been tested for infertility between 1973 and 2008. Their data is linked to the registration system of the Psychiatric Center through the civil registration system, making it very easy to obtain information on their mental disorders. These mental problems are divided into six categories: alcohol abuse and narcotics, schizophrenia and mental disorders, mood disorders including depression, anxiety, adaptive disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders (bulimia or anorexia), and "other mental disorders."

The survey began with the examination of each woman's first fertility treatment until she had a mental illness, immigration, or death, or the arrival of December 31, 2008 (any of the first incidents). Fischkov said that such detailed research of information can only be achieved in a country like Denmark, because each citizen’s civil records are associated with medical records.

This average of 12.6 years, including 98,737 women follow-up survey shows. Of these, 54% (about 53,000 people) had children and nearly 5,000 were hospitalized because of mental illness. The most common were "anxiety, adaptive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder," followed by "emotional disorder including depression."

It is worth noting that women who have never had children have a higher probability of mental illness than those who have had at least one child in the future. For specific categories, the proportion of women who have not had a child due to “abuse of alcohol and narcotics”, “schizophrenia” and “other mental disorders” is 103%, 47%, and 43% higher than those who have had childbirth. In addition, the probability of having an eating disorder was 47% higher (but this item was not statistically significant) and the odds of “emotional disorder including depression” were also slightly greater. However, "anxiety, adaptive disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder" (the highest number of mental problems among all respondents) appear to be not closely related to childbirth.

Fischkov commented: "According to our findings, if a woman has never had childbearing after performing a fertility check, she is at greater risk of mental illness. This information is for those who are being investigated or treated for infertility. It is very important for physicians with counseling advice for women with symptoms. In addition, experts and medical staff must pay attention to the mental state of infertility patients, and they are more prone to mental illness.”