Lack of association between receiving ART treatment and parental psychological distress during pregnancy: Preliminary findings of the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Kouichi Yoshimasu; Akiko Sato; Naoko Miyauchi; Kanami Tsuno; Hidekazu Nishigori; Kunihiko Nakai; Takahiro Arima; Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group

doi:10.1016/j.rbms.2017.09.002

Lack of association between receiving ART treatment and parental psychological distress during pregnancy: Preliminary findings of the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Reprod Biomed Soc Online. 2017 Oct 28:5:5-16. doi: 10.1016/j.rbms.2017.09.002. eCollection 2018 Apr.

Authors

Kouichi Yoshimasu¹, Akiko Sato², Naoko Miyauchi², Kanami Tsuno¹, Hidekazu Nishigori^{2

3}, Kunihiko Nakai², Takahiro Arima²; Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Kimiidera, Wakayama, Japan.
² Environment and Genome Research Centre, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Miyagi, Japan.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Miyagi, Japan.

Abstract

In a nationwide population-based birth cohort study in Japan, pregnant women and their partners were evaluated for psychological distress as part of the first and second/third trimester health checks. Participants were divided into three groups: an infertility group receiving assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment (239 mothers and 151 fathers); an infertility group receiving non-ART treatment (350 mothers and 215 fathers); and a spontaneous pregnancy group (8514 mothers and 5110 fathers). Data on maternal and child health as well as basic characteristics were collected via medical records and self-administered questionnaires. The Kessler Six-item Psychological Distress Scale was employed for eligible women and their partners. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between psychological distress experienced during pregnancy and ART treatment, with adjustment for potential confounders such as basic health status and socio-economic status. The mothers who received ART treatment suffered less psychological distress than the mothers in the other two groups. In multivariate analysis adjusted for background characteristics, no significant association was observed between persistent maternal distress and ART treatment (adjusted odds ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.49-1.26). Higher socio-economic status among couples receiving ART treatment may explain, in part, the lack of association between ART treatment and parental distress during pregnancy.

Keywords: Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS); Kessler Six-item Psychological Distress (K6) scale; assisted reproductive technology (ART); psychological distress.