Infertility tied to more severe menopause symptoms

Women with a history of infertility are more likely to experience more severe menopausal symptoms, particularly depression, irritability, and sleep problems.

A study published in the journal Menopause investigated the association between midlife women with a history of infertility and their menopausal symptoms. The results of the study revealed that women who experienced infertility, but had been pregnant, had an increased likelihood of reporting menopausal symptoms during midlife compared with women who do not have a history of infertility. They were also more likely to go through menopause later, though age at menopause was not linked to symptoms.

'This study shows an association between a history of infertility and increased odds of depression and sleep symptoms in midlife,' said Dr Stephanie Faubion, medical director for the Menopause Society, which publishes the journal, who was not involved in the research. 'Women in midlife with a history of infertility may benefit from increased screening for depression.'

The researchers included 695 women in the study who had been recruited during pregnancy and followed for 18 years. Of this cohort, 36.6 percent of participants had experienced infertility in their lifetime.

Menopause symptoms were assessed using the Menopause Rating Scale, a questionnaire that measures the presence and severity of menopausal symptoms, with a higher score indicating a greater impact of symptoms on a woman's life. The results showed that women with a history of infertility had a higher median score on the Scale than women without a history of infertility.

When looking at the symptoms that were more common, the researchers found that women who had experienced infertility had approximately 50 percent higher odds of both depressive and irritability symptoms, and nearly two-fold higher odds of severe sleep problems. However, no association was found between infertility and age of menopause, or other common symptoms including hot flushes, anxiety, and bladder discomfort.

Although previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between infertility treatment and depression, the researchers believe that this is the first study to look at the association between prior infertility and depressive symptoms in midlife.