Associations Between Natural Physiological and Supraphysiological Estradiol Levels and Stress Perception

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Brigitte Leeners¹  Cordula Schippert²  Yuanyuan Zhang³  Fabian Ille⁴  Tillmann H. C. Krüger³  Kirsten Geraedts¹  Enrico Tronci⁵  Toni Mancini⁵  Marcel Egli⁴  Susanna Röblitz⁶  Lanja Saleh⁷  Katharina Spanaus⁷ 

[1] Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, University Hospital Zurich;Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Hannover Medical School;Department of Psychiatry, Medical School Hannover;Centre of Competence in Aerospace Biomedical Science & Technology, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts;Department of Computer Science, University of Rome “La Sapienza”;Computational Biology Unit, Department of Informatics, University of Bergen;Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital Zurich

关键词: hormones;    fertility treatment;    menstrual cycle;    stress;    PSQ;    cognitive bias;    estrogen;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01296

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Stress is a risk factor for impaired general, mental, and reproductive health. The role of physiological and supraphysiological estradiol concentrations in stress perception and stress processing is less well understood. We, therefore, conducted a prospective observational study to investigate the association between estradiol, stress perception, and stress-related cognitive performance within serial measurements either during the natural menstrual cycle or during fertility treatment, where estradiol levels are strongly above the physiological level of a natural cycle, and consequently, represent a good model to study dose-dependent effects of estradiol. Data from 44 women receiving in vitro fertilization (IVF) at the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology in Zurich, Switzerland was compared to data from 88 women with measurements during their natural menstrual cycle. The German version of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Cognitive Bias Test (CBT), in which cognitive performance is tested under time stress were used to evaluate subjective and functional aspects of stress. Estradiol levels were investigated at four different time points during the menstrual cycle and at two different time points during a fertility treatment. Cycle phases were associated with PSQ worry and cognitive bias in normally cycling women, but different phases of fertility treatment were not associated with subjectively perceived stress and stress-related cognitive bias. PSQ lack of joy and PSQ demands related to CBT in women receiving fertility treatment but not in women with a normal menstrual cycle. Only strong changes of the estradiol level during fertility treatment were weakly associated with CBT, but not with subjectively experienced stress. Our research emphasizes the multidimensional character of stress and the necessity to adjust stress research to the complex nature of stress perception and processing. Infertility is associated with an increased psychological burden in patients. However, not all phases of the process to overcome infertility do significantly increase patient stress levels. Also, research on the psychological burden of infertility should consider that stress may vary during the different phases of fertility treatment. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov # {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02098668","term_id":"NCT02098668"}} NCT02098668 .

【 授权许可】

CC BY