Information overload and pregnancy outcomes in IVF: psychological distress as an explanatory pathway

This cross-sectional study examined the associations among information overload, psychological distress (fear of progression and perceived stress), and clinical pregnancy outcomes in 194 patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) at a reproductive medicine center in China. Data were collected using validated scales. Information overload, fear of progression, and perceived stress were all reported at moderate to high levels and were positively correlated with each other (r = 0.407-0.465, all P < 0.01). After adjusting for clinical confounders, higher scores on information overload (OR  0.894, 95% CI 0.825-0.969), fear of progression (OR 0.915, 95% CI 0.851-0.984), and perceived stress (OR 0.903, 95% CI 0.835-0.977) were each associated with a lower likelihood of clinical pregnancy (all P < 0.05). These findings suggest that psychological distress may represent a potential explanatory pathway linking information overload to pregnancy outcomes in IVF patients. Routine psychological assessment and targeted interventions to reduce information burden may be beneficial.