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Subfecundity and anxiety in a nationally representative sample.

Rosalind Berkowitz King1

  • 1Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#8120, University Square, 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997, USA. rosalind_king@unc.edu

Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|February 1, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Subfecundity, or impaired fecundity, significantly increases anxiety disorder risk and symptom incidence in American women. Desire for a child and treatment seeking do not alter anxiety likelihood, but impact symptom count.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Previous research on psychological impacts of impaired fecundity primarily used clinic-based samples.
  • This study addresses this gap by utilizing a nationally representative sample.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between subfecundity and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in a national sample of American women.
  • To examine the influence of desire for a child and treatment seeking on anxiety in subfecund women.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from a 1995 national survey of nearly 11,000 American women.
  • Statistical examination of fecundity status, anxiety disorder criteria fulfillment, and symptom incidence, controlling for confounding factors.

Main Results:

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  • Subfecundity was consistently associated with increased odds of meeting GAD diagnostic criteria.
  • Subfecundity also increased the incidence rate of anxiety symptoms.
  • Desire for a child moderated the number of reported symptoms, but not the likelihood of anxiety. Treatment seeking did not moderate anxiety likelihood or symptom count.

Conclusions:

  • Subfecundity is a significant risk factor for Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the general population of American women.
  • Findings suggest that research on clinic-based samples may be generalizable to all subfecund women regarding anxiety.
  • The psychological distress associated with subfecundity warrants attention in public health initiatives.