A recent study has found that infertile women who are unsuccessful with fertility treatments are at a higher risk for a number of psychiatric disorders.
Using the Danish national population registry, researchers cross-linked the entries of infertile women with the Psychiatric Central Registry for the years 1973-2008.
They found that women who remained childless after their initial fertility analysis were 18% more likely to be hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder than women who had a child.
These women also had a 103% greater risk for alcohol/substance abuse, schizophrenia (47%), and other mental disorders (43%).
The results of this study are based on the single largest cohort of women with infertility.
These data provide important knowledge for counselors treating women struggling with infertility.
