Dataset Information

Daily perceived stress and time to pregnancy: A prospective cohort study of women trying to conceive.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Prior studies among women with impaired fecundity have consistently demonstrated a positive association between daily perceived stress and the ability to conceive. However, the effects of daily stress on time to pregnancy (TTP) among women with proven fertility is not known. MATERIALS AND METHODS:One hundred and forty-three women ages 18-35, in a relationship of proven fertility, who desired to conceive were included in the analysis. Daily diaries recording perceived stress (scale 0-10) were completed for up to 7 menstrual cycles or until pregnancy. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association between time-varying perceived stress tertiles (high [>4.1-7.2], moderate [>2.7-4.1], and low [0.1-2.7]) and adjusted fecundability odds ratio (aFOR), 95% confidence intervals (CI), after taking into account age, parity, education, time-varying caffeine and alcohol intake, fertility awareness tracking, and cycle intent to conceive. RESULTS:Among the 111 participants who completed daily diaries, 90 (81.1%) conceived. Women reporting high or moderate stress, versus low stress, had no difference in probability of achieving pregnancy (aFOR: 1.11 [95% CI: 0.58, 2.14]; and aFOR: 1.37 [0.71, 2.67]), respectively. Additional adjustment for intercourse frequency during narrow fertile window, or narrowing exposure focus to pre-ovulatory or pre-implantation stress did not appreciably alter the estimates. CONCLUSION:Daily perceived stress was not adversely associated with TTP among women with proven fertility. While a growing body of evidence supports adverse effects of more severe stressful life events on female reproductive function, moderate psychological stress, commonly referred to as eustress, among relatively healthy women with proven fertility does not appear to adversely impact TTP.

SUBMITTER: Park J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7314282 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Daily perceived stress and time to pregnancy: A prospective cohort study of women trying to conceive.

Park Jihye J Stanford Joseph B JB Porucznik Christina A CA Christensen Kylie K Schliep Karen C KC

Psychoneuroendocrinology 20190916

<h4>Background</h4>Prior studies among women with impaired fecundity have consistently demonstrated a positive association between daily perceived stress and the ability to conceive. However, the effects of daily stress on time to pregnancy (TTP) among women with proven fertility is not known.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>One hundred and forty-three women ages 18-35, in a relationship of proven fertility, who desired to conceive were included in the analysis. Daily diaries recording perceived st ...[more]

PMID: 31546113

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Little is known about the predictors of sexual intercourse frequency (SIF) among couples trying to conceive despite the well-established link between SIF and fecundity. AIM:To evaluate men's and women's demographic, occupational, and lifestyle predictors of SIF among couples. METHODS:469 Couples without a history of infertility participating in the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment Study (2005-2009) were followed up for ?1 year while trying to conceive. At enrollment, both partners were interviewed about demographic, occupational, lifestyle, and psychological characteristics using standardized questionnaires. Multivariable generalized linear mixed models with Poisson distribution were used to estimate the adjusted percent difference in SIF across exposure categories. OUTCOMES:SIF was recorded in daily journals and summarized as average SIF/mo. RESULTS:The median (interquartile range) SIF during follow-up was 6 (4-9) acts/mo. For every year increase in age for women and men, SIF decreased by -0.8% (95% CI -2.5 to 1.0%) and -1.7% (95% CI -3.1 to -0.3%). Women with high school education or less and those of non-white race had 34.4% and 16.0% higher SIF, respectively. A similar trend was seen for men's education and race. Only couples where both partners (but not just 1 partner) worked rotating shifts had -39.1% (95% CI -61.0 to -5.0%) lower SIF compared to couples where neither partner worked rotating shifts. Men's (but not women's) exercise was associated with 13.2% (95% CI 1.7-26.0%) higher SIF. Diagnosis of a mood or anxiety disorder in men (but not women) was associated with a 26.0% (95% CI -42.7 to -4.4%) lower SIF. Household income, smoking status, body mass index, night work, alcohol intake, and psychosocial stress were not associated with SIF. CLINICAL TRANSLATION:Even among couples trying to conceive, there was substantial variation in SIF. Both partners' age, education, race, and rotating shift work as well as men's exercise and mental health play an important role in determining SIF. CONCLUSIONS:As this was a secondary analysis of an existing study, we lacked information on many pertinent psychological and relationship quality variables and the hormonal status of participants, which could have affected SIF. The unique population-based couple design, however, captured both partners' demographics, occupational characteristics, and lifestyle behaviors in advance of their daily, prospective reporting of SIF, which was a major strength. Important predictors of SIF among couples attempting to conceive include men's exercise and mental health and both partners' age, education, race, and rotating shift work. Gaskins AJ, Sundaram R, Buck Louis GM, et al. Predictors of Sexual Intercourse Frequency Among Couples Trying to Conceive. J Sex Med 2018;15:519-528.

Project description:Fecundability, the probability of conception in a month or in a menstrual cycle, varies across and within age groups for both women and men. Fertility treatment has become common in a number of countries including Japan, but its impact on the age pattern of fecundability is unknown. By utilizing the previously collected data on time to pregnancy (TTP) of Japanese couples trying to conceive their first child, the present study aimed to estimate fecundability and sterility by women's age and to assess how the estimates may differ by including or excluding assisted conceptions. Duration between discontinuing contraception and conception (including both natural and assisted) resulted in a live birth was called TTP-all, and the duration ending with natural conception was called TTP-natural. TTP-natural was censored when a participant received fertility consultation or treatment. A zero-inflated beta distribution model was used to estimate a proportion of sterile (zero probability of conception) and a distribution of fecundability for each age group. Parameters of the distribution were estimated using the maximum likelihood method. When TTP-all and TTP-natural were used, the sterile proportion of the whole sample was, respectively, 2% and 14%, and the median (interquartile range) of fecundability was, respectively, 0.10 (0.04, 0.19) and 0.11 (0.05, 0.19). The median (interquartile range) of fecundability was 0.18 (0.10, 0.29) for women aged 24 years or younger and 0.05 (0.02, 0.13) for 35-39 years old when TTP-all was used, and the estimates were quite similar with those based on TTP-natural: it was 0.18 (0.10, 0.29) for women aged 24 years or younger and 0.06 (0.00, 0.15) for 35-39 years old. Exclusion of assisted conceptions resulted in larger proportions of sterility, but it had little impact on median or interquartile ranges of fecundability estimates. Fecundability is overall lower at higher ages, while interquartile ranges are overlapping, suggesting that inter-individual variability of fecundability within an age group is as large as the variability across age groups.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Despite favorable climatic conditions, vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is widespread in Pakistan. Current study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of VDD in Pakistani pregnant women and effectiveness of various regimen of Vitamin D supplementation. METHODOLOGY:This hospital-based prospective cohort study included pregnant women at 12th to 24th weeks of gestation attending Gynae clinic from October 2018 to April 2019. Patients were classified into control and treatment groups (Groups: G1, G2 and G3) according to the dose of vitamin D supplementation. Patients received various regimens of vitamin D including 2000 IU/day (G1), 5000 IU/day (G2) and stat 200000 IU (G3). The levels of vitamin D were measured before and after supplementation. The effectiveness of dosages were compared between and within the groups. Moreover, factors associated with vitamin D sufficiency and insufficiency were ascertained using appropriate statistical methods. RESULTS:Among 281 pregnant women (mean age: 28.22 ± 4.61 years), VDD was prevalent in 47.3% cases. Vitamin D supplementation caused significant rise in the levels 25(OH)D in treatment groups, while there was no significant difference in control group. The highest mean increment in vitamin D (23.14 ± 11.18 ng/ml) was observed with dose 5000 IU/day followed by doses 200000 IU stat (21.06 ± 13.73 ng/ml) and 2000 IU/day (10.24 ± 5.65 ng/ml). Vitamin D toxicity was observed in one patient who received 200000 IU stat of vitamin D. The frequency of VDD following the supplementation was 5.7%. Education status, duration of sun exposure and use of sunblock was substantially associated with vitamin D sufficiency in the current study. CONCLUSION:Our findings underscore the high proportion of VDD among pregnant women in Pakistan. Maternal vitamin D supplementation substantially improved the levels of 25(OH)D. Of three used regimens, the dose of 5000 IU/day is considered safe and equally effective as of 200000 IU stat. Since pregnancy is a time of tremendous growth and physiological changes for mother and her developing fetus with lifelong implications for the child, gestational vitamin D supplementation should be considered to ensure the optimal vitamin D accrual in pregnant women. This study generates the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation at a dose of 5000 IU/day during pregnancy is superior to the other regimens. However, well-controlled randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings.

Dataset Information

Daily perceived stress and time to pregnancy: A prospective cohort study of women trying to conceive.

Publications

Daily perceived stress and time to pregnancy: A prospective cohort study of women trying to conceive.

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