Abstract
Objective. To assess which personality traits are associated with depressive and/or anxiety disorders in infertile women and men undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Design. Prospective study. Setting. A university hospital in Sweden. Population. A total of 856 eligible women and men, 428 couples, were approached to participate. Overall 643 (75.1%) subjects filled out the Swedish Universities Scales of Personality (SSP) questionnaire. The response rates were 323 women (75.5%) and 320 men (74.8%). Methods. The SSP, a self-rating personality trait questionnaire, was used for evaluation. Main outcome measures. Personality traits associated with depression and/or anxiety disorders. Results. Higher mean scores on all neuroticism-related personality traits were found in women and men with depressive and/or anxiety disorders compared to women and men with no diagnosis. High scores of neuroticism and a negative pregnancy test after IVF were associated with depressive and/or anxiety disorders among women. Among men, high scores of neuroticism and unexplained or male infertility factor were associated with depressive and/or anxiety disorders. High neuroticism scores were negatively associated with live birth (p < 0.05). Conclusion. High scores on neuroticism-related personality traits were associated with depressive and/or anxiety disorders in women and men undergoing IVF.
Acknowledgements
The study was supported by research grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Council for Working Life and Social Research, the Family Planning Foundation and the Foundation of Caring Sciences, Uppsala University.
Disclosure of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.