COPING STYLE AND DEPRESSION LEVEL INFLUENCE OUTCOME IN IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION

Objective: To examine the influence of depression levels and coping on IVF outcome in women, taking into account the cause of infertility. D esign: Prospective clinical study. Setting: A university hospital. Pat ient(s): Ninety-eight women undergoing IVF treatment. Intervention(s): Psychometric tests were administered at the first visit (day 3) of th e investigated treatment cycle. Main Outcome Measure(s): Achievement o f pregnancy. Results: The nonpregnant group reported increased express ion of negative emotions. In the subgroup with a female indication for IVF, increased depressive symptomatology (correlated with increased e xpression of negative emotions) was associated with lower pregnancy ra tes (PRs), whereas in the subgroup with a male indication for IVF, inc reased depressive symptomatology (correlated with decreased expression of negative emotions) was associated with higher PRs. Conclusion(s): Expression of negative emotions predicts depression levels and outcome in IVF. The cause of infertility should be taken into account when in vestigating the relation between psychologic functioning and outcome i n IVF. (C) 1998 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.