Investigation of the psychological complications associated with infertility in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome; infertility. Depression. Quality of life. Emotional suffering.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a gynecological endocrinopathy that affects about 20% of women of childbearing age. In addition to reproductive complications, this syndrome is associated with metabolic alterations and psychological disorders, such as reduced quality of life and increased risk factors for anxiety and depression, which can de-structure health and well-being over time. Infertility can cause negative impacts that involve emotional, physical, psychological and social suffering. As the syndrome is considered one of the main causes of female infertility, the present study aimed to evaluate the psychic disorders associated with infertility in women with PCOS. The 100 women were analyzed for clinical, biochemical and psychological aspects. The participants were submitted to the collection of biological material and to the questionnaire for clinical and sociodemographic evaluation, BDI, WHOQOL-BREF and SCL-90-R. The analysis of the information collected was performed using a statistical system based on Stata (n = 55) and fertile (45) presented statistically significant differences in mean age (27.7 ± 5.1 vs 24.9 ± 5.7, p = 0.01), BMI ( 31.7 ± 5.2 kg / m2 vs 29.01 ± 5.1 kg / m2), in the percentage of android fat (49.1 ± 8.3 vs. 44.2 ± 9.7, p = 0.01 ) and systolic blood pressure (123.81 ± 14.1 mmHg vs 118.45 ± 12.9, p = 0.05). In addition, infertility was observed in 55% (n = 55) of the participants and 66% (n = 66) of the women presented mean scores that indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. The mean values of the WHOQOL-BREF scores were: 56.9 ± 17.4 (Physical), 57.3 ± 18.8 (Psychological), 58.5 ± 23.3 (Social), 50.7 ± 16 (Environmental) and overall quality of life 54.8 ± 15. As for the evaluation of emotional distress by the SCL-90-R instrument, none of the participants exceeded the normative value. In the logistic regression model, infertility was not associated with symptoms of depression, reduced quality of life and emotional distress. The results show that women with PCOS present complex symptoms that may be related to the development of depressive symptoms, reduced quality of life, as well as emotional distress, regardless of the presence of infertility.