Individual prognosis for changes in sperm quality on the basis of perceived stress.

Department of Psychology, Dermatological Clinic, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany. pook@mailer.uni-marburg.de

BACKGROUND: In this study we examined whether stress has a negative influence on sperm quality. To investigate this issue we developed a scale assessing perceived stress resulting from infertility. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Infertility Distress Scale was constructed based on the data of 158 infertility patients contacting an andrological clinic for the first time. The Infertility Distress Scale consists of items assessing self-reported stress, different appraisals of infertility and cognitive involvement in infertility. The scale was shown to have good psychometric properties. Changes in sperm quality were predicted by this scale for 69 patients. Changes in sperm concentration and sperm motility were predicted correctly 75.4 and 65.6% of the time, respectively. While these prediction accuracies were significantly better than chance prediction, the Infertility Distress Scale had no predictive value for changes in morphology. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that distress caused by infertility is a risk factor for a decrease in sperm quality.

PMID: 10026461 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]