Stress affects women’s health sometimes due to fertility treatments.

The team found that maternal stress during preconception was associated with higher blood glucose levels, especially among women who used intrauterine insemination to conceive and women of higher socioeconomic status. The results are published in ‘Journal of the Endocrine Society‘.

“The prevalence of stress has increased over the years, particularly for couples who cannot conceive naturally,” explains Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón, co-investigator of the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) study. «We wanted to evaluate how this stress affects health during pregnancy, which can affect both mother and child in the long term.».

Mínguez-Alarcón and colleagues analyzed data from the EARTH study conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center from 2004 to 2019 for 398 women ages 18 to 45. Women report perceived preconception stress upon entering the study. Study staff collected additional clinical characteristics and sociodemographic information, including family and medical history, consumer product use, and smoking history, via medical records or questionnaires.

The women had an average age of 35 years at entry to the study and the majority were of white ethnicity (83%), had never smoked (78%), and had at least a college education (64%). Three hundred of the women conceived using medically assisted technologies such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).

sperm

During IUI, sperm are injected directly into the uterus, while IVF is a multi-step technology that involves retrieving an egg for fertilization in a laboratory before transferring it back to the uterus. The glucose test was performed at 26 weeks of pregnancy and one hour after the women drank a 50-gram glucose solution. A blood sugar level of 140 mg/dL or less was demonstrated to be normal.

The researchers found that blood sugar levels, a measure of cardiovascular health, were abnormally high in 82 of the women involved. Previous studies have shown that women with a history of gestational diabetes (GD) during pregnancy have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as cardiovascular problems later in life, including calcification of the heart arteries.

The team found that women who experienced greater preconception stress had higher average glucose levels. Besides, Women who conceived through IUI had higher stress and blood sugar levels than those who conceived through IVF. The study also found that women of higher socioeconomic status had higher levels of preconception stress and blood glucose levels during pregnancy. Median family income was used to measure socioeconomic status.

“Professional women with higher incomes and educational levels achieved can perform demanding, time-consuming jobs and are often also responsible for balancing demands in the workplace with household chores and childcare,” it notes. Mínguez-Alarcón.

«It has previously been shown that women with a higher level of education experience higher levels of work stress. Since educational level is positively associated with salary, it is possible that this explanation also applies to women with higher incomes.

Still, the findings are limited as the study comprises a group of mostly white, high-SES women seeking fertility care. The stress perceived by the participants themselves can also lead to sessions in the participants.

Future research can investigate additional variables such as sleep quality or neighborhood safety, as well as the effect of preconception stress on the baby’s health.

“Our results are of importance for public health given the increasing rates of stress over the years and its effect on cardiovascular health,” says Mínguez-Alarcón. “The Women can try to reduce their stress levels through a variety of strategies such as being more active, avoiding alcohol and drugs, eating healthy and avoiding isolation.