Altered responses to stress in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization and recipients of oocyte donation.

Clinical impressions suggest the presence of considerable anxiety and depression in infertile couples. We utilized a psychological stress test to assess adaptations to provoked stress to improve the psychological profile of infertile women. A psychological stress test was administered to four groups: normal menstruating females (controls, n = 13); oocyte donors (n = 13); recipients of oocyte donation (n = 7); and women undergoing standard in-vitro fertilization (IVF; mean age 38.0 years; n = 8). The psychological stress test consisted of three active coping tasks: (i) serial subtraction, (ii) Stroop colour test, (iii) speech task and (iv) one passive coping task, the cold-pressor test. Haemodynamic responses (HD) were monitored before, during and after the psychological stress test, and serum samples were drawn for catecholamines and cortisol. Baseline blood pressures were similar among groups. The psychological stress test elicited different biophysical responses in controls compared with the other groups (P < 0.001). Oocyte donors had different speech task responses from baseline, although these and the other parameters of the psychological stress test were not different from either the recipient or IVF groups. Blood pressure responses from baseline were blunted in both recipients and standard IVF patients following provoked stress. Baseline cortisol and norepinephrine were similar among all groups, yet provoked stress elicited a significant increase in controls (142.0 +/- 25.2%, P < 0.001) compared with oocyte donors (17.1 +/- 19.7%), recipients and standard IVF patients (mean -15.5 +/- 17.3% respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)