Main Article Content

Mental and personality disorders in infertile women with polycystic ovary: a case-control study


Mostafa Ahmadi
Mahbobeh Faramarzi
Zahra Basirat
Farzan Kheirkhah
Mohammad Chehrazi
Fatemeh Ashabi

Abstract

Background: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common causes of infertility in women.


Objective: The current study investigated mental and personality disorders in infertile women with and without PCOS.


Methods: This case-control study evaluated 400 infertile women who referred to the Infertility Center in Babol city (North of Iran). Participants were categorized into the case group (201 PCOS) and the control group (199 without PCOS). All of the participants completed the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory-III (MCMI-III).


Results: The mean scores for clinical personality patterns were significantly higher for six personality disorders (schiz- oid, avoidant, antisocial, depressive, sadistic, and negativistic) and for three classes of severe personality disorder patterns (schizotypal, borderline, and paranoid) in infertile women with PCOS than in women without PCOS. The mean scores for eight clinical disorders (somatoform, manic disorder, dysthymia, alcohol-dependence, drug-dependence, post-trauma stress disorder, major depression, and delusion disorder) were also higher in infertile women with PCOS than in women without PCOS.


Conclusion: The scores of many mental and personality disorders are higher in infertile women with PCOS than in women without PCOS. Thus, clinicians should prioritize recognizing and treating psychological problems of infertile women with PCOS.


Keywords: Polycystic ovarian syndrome; infertility; personality disorders.


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 1729-0503
print ISSN: 1680-6905