Anxiety and success of in vitro fertilization.

Objective: To assess the effects of anxiety on pregnancy rate after in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Study Design: This was a prospective study of 180 infertile women who were referred for IVF treatment to two selected infertility treatment centers in Tehran. They were recruited at the last visit before the procedure by quota sampling and their anxiety was assessed using the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, following which they were categorized, based on their anxiety scores, to high and low anxiety groups. A positive pregnancy test was considered as the criterion of success of treatment. Data were analyzed using SPSS 17. Pregnancy rates in the low and high anxiety groups were compared using the Chi square test.

Results: Pregnancy rates in the groups with high and low levels of state anxiety were not significantly different (11.1 vs. 10.1 percent; X(2), p>0.05); neither were these rates significantly different in groups with high and low levels of trait anxiety (14.5 vs. 9 percent; X(2), P>0.05).

Conclusion: High or low levels of state or trait anxiety have no effect on the pregnancy rate after IVF treatment. Counseling is necessary, however, to decrease anxiety in infertile women to improve their quality of life.