Stress reduces fertility in women

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In North America, 20 to 25 percent of women and 18 to 21 percent of men of reproductive age report daily psychological stress. Although previous research has suggested that stress can decrease the odds of conception, few studies have examined this association among couples from the general population.

Now, a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers finds higher levels of stress are associated with lower odds of conception for women, but not for men.

The study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"Although this study does not definitely prove that stress causes infertility, it does provide evidence supporting the integration of mental health care in preconception guidance and care," says BUSPH doctoral student Amelia Wesselink, the study's lead author.

The researchers used data from the Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), an ongoing preconception cohort of North American pregnancy planners that follows couples for 12 months or until pregnancy, whichever comes first. For the new study, the researchers followed 4,769 women and 1,272 men who did not have a history of infertility and had not been trying to conceive for more than six menstrual cycles.

Prenatal exposure to maternal stress may raise psoriasis risk

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"(HealthDay)—Prenatal exposure to maternal bereavement is associated with psoriasis only for children born to a mother who lost a partner/spouse or an older child, according to a study published online Dec. 7 in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Xiaoqin Liu, Ph.D., from the National Center for Register-Based Research at Aarhus University in Denmark, and colleagues examined whether prenatal exposure to maternal bereavement increases the risk of offspring psoriasis in a register-based cohort study involving 1,811,917 live singletons. If mothers lost a child, partner/spouse, parent, or sibling during pregnancy or up to 12 months before pregnancy, the children were assigned to the bereaved group.

The researchers found that 7,956 children were hospitalized or prescribed medications for psoriasis during 28 million person-years of follow-up. By age 30 years, 1.54 and 1.34 percent of children from the bereaved and non-bereaved group, respectively, were diagnosed with psoriasis. In general, prenatal exposure to maternal bereavement was not associated with the risk of psoriasis (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.2). An increased risk of psoriasis was seen for children born to mothers who lost a partner/spouse or an older child (hazard ratio, 1.33; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.73).

"Prenatal exposure to the most stressful life event may contribute to the development and/or exacerbation of psoriasis," the authors write."

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Stress negatively affects chances of conception

"What many have long suspected, has been scientifically confirmed -- women's high stress reduces their probability of conception.

University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences epidemiologist Kira Taylor, Ph.D., and her UofL and Emory University colleagues, found that women who reported feeling more stressed during their ovulatory window were approximately 40-percent less likely to conceive during that month than other less stressful months. Similarly, women who generally reported feeling more stressed than other women, were about 45-percent less likely to conceive. The results of the study recently published in the journal Annals of Epidemiology.

In the study, 400 women 40-years-old and younger who were sexually active recorded their daily stress levels measured on a scale from one to four (low to high). The diaries also contained information regarding menstruation, intercourse, contraception, alcohol, caffeine and smoking. Urine samples also were collected throughout the study, and women were followed until they became pregnant or until the study ended, for an average of eight menstrual cycles..."

Learn more:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160912161019.htm