The relationship between psychosocial stress in childhood and poor ovarian reserve

In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of childhood traumas on poor ovarian reserve in adults. It was planned as a case-control study. Participants were selected from patients who applied to the IVF (In vitro fertilization) center of Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Cases included in the study; women who received the diagnosis of poor ovarian reserve and controls who was excluded and the patients who applied due to male factor infertility (oligoasthenoteratospermia) were examined in two groups. A total of 205 people, 102 in the case group and 103 in the control group, were included in the study. A questionnaire containing sociodemographic data and a 28-item short form of the CTQ (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) which was adapted to Turkish and obtained its Turkish validity and reliability, were administered to both groups. Then, the 'Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale', which had Turkish validity and reliability, was applied to both groups. The demographic data of the cases and the data of the survey results were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 21.0 program. 102 people from the poor ovarian reserve (case) group and 103 people from the OAT (Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia) (control) group participated in our study. While the mean age of the case group was 33.2, the mean age of the control group was 31.1. The emotional neglect subscale score of the Childhood Trauma Scale was found to be high in both groups. While the mean emotional neglect score was 10.08 in the poor ovarian reserve group, it was 8.53 in the OAT group. In addition, there is a significant difference between the two groups (p=0.003). Emotional abuse had the second highest mean score in both groups. The lowest mean value was found in the physical abuse group in both groups. As a result of the analyzes made in our study, a significant positive correlation was found between childhood traumas and poor ovarian reserve. The importance of psychosocial evaluation of patients with poor ovarian reserve and multidimensional handling of childhood traumas in terms of protecting the health of the individual and society is understood.