Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 5, 40127, Bologna, Italy.
Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IRCCS - ASMN of Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
J Assist Reprod Genet. 2017 Oct;34(10):1307-1315. doi: 10.1007/s10815-017-1000-9. Epub 2017 Jul 21.
Quality of life (QoL) may represent a comprehensive indicator for the assessment of the psychological impact of complex clinical conditions, such as infertility. Infertile women have a worse QoL compared to both infertile men and non-infertile controls. However, the initial phases of infertility treatments have been frequently investigated using cross-sectional study designs. This prospective longitudinal study aimed at assessing the health-related QoL change across different phases of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments in subfertile women and men.
Eighty-five subfertile women and men undergoing ART cycles were assessed at the beginning of the ovarian stimulation, during oocyte retrieval before discharging, and around 14 days after the embryo transfer. QoL was assessed through the Short Form 36.
Irrespective of the cause of infertility, work status, and age, QoL levels decreased from the first to the third assessment, and women scored significantly lower than men to each QoL indicator. Additionally, a higher number of previous ART failures had a negative impact on QoL, irrespective of gender and the phase of treatment. ART outcome marginally affected women's QoL across time.
Infertile women have a worse QoL throughout all phases of ARTs compared to men, and this difference increases in infertile patients with more than one previous ART failure.
生活质量（QoL）可能是评估复杂临床状况（如不孕）心理影响的综合指标。与不孕男性和非不孕对照组相比，不孕女性的生活质量更差。然而，不孕治疗的初始阶段经常通过横断面研究设计进行研究。本前瞻性纵向研究旨在评估辅助生殖技术（ART）治疗不同阶段对不孕女性和男性健康相关生活质量的变化。
85 名接受 ART 周期的不孕女性和男性在卵巢刺激开始时、取卵前出院时和胚胎移植后约 14 天进行评估。通过短表 36 评估生活质量。
无论不孕的原因、工作状况和年龄如何，生活质量水平从第一次评估到第三次评估都有所下降，女性在每个生活质量指标上的得分均明显低于男性。此外，以前的 ART 失败次数较多对生活质量有负面影响，无论性别和治疗阶段如何。ART 结局对女性的生活质量随时间的变化只有轻微影响。
与男性相比，不孕女性在接受 ART 的所有阶段的生活质量都更差，而且以前有多次 ART 失败的不孕患者之间的这种差异更大。
