Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety and depression of infertile women: A meta–analysis

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety and depression in infertile women. Methods: This study was performed in 2019 by searching Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed/ MEDLINE, Cochrane library, EMBASE, Proquest, ISI Web of Science, MagIran, SID and IranMedex. Eligible studies were selected by two reviewers and outcomes of interest were extracted. The meta-analysis was performed using the random effect models. I - square statistic test was used for heterogeneity analysis. Presence of publication bias was also checked. Results: Eleven studies were included in this review. Between-group differences (cognitive behavioral therapy and control groups) in risk ratio for infertile women's depression was d=-1.36; 95% CI=-1.81, -0.90; P<0.001. For infertile women's anxiety, between-group differences in risk ratio was d= -0.83; 95% CI= -1.18, -0.47; P<0.001. Conclusions: Cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in the reduction of depression and anxiety in patients with or without in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment. However, the lack of high-quality studies makes it challenging to make a solid and precise conclusion. Well-designed studies should be undertaken in the future to confirm these results

Keywords

• cognitive behavioral therapy
• anxiety
• depression
• infertile women
• meta-analysis