Association between domain-specific physical activity and mental health status after embryo transfer in IVF-ET-assisted pregnancy patients

Abstract

Physical activity has been shown to impact mental health in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) patients, but the relationship between domain-specific physical activity and mental health in this population remains unclear. In a cross-sectional observational study, 208 patients undergoing IVF-ET with long-term ovulation induction cycles were recruited from a reproductive center. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90) were used to assess physical activity levels and mental health status, respectively. Analyses of variance and linear regression analyses were conducted to identify the relationship between physical activity and mental health. There were differences between different physical activity level in times of transfers, years of infertility, and times of abortions. Patients with high levels of physical activity had fewer symptoms than those with low levels of physical activity. Occupation, transport and household physical activity had significant negative correlations with the respective SCL-90 factor scores. Linear regression analysis revealed that occupation physical activity was associated with lower depression and anxiety, and transport physical activity and household physical activity were associated with lower obsessive–compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and psychoticism scores. The study indicates that increased engagement in physical activity, specifically activities related to occupation, transportation, and household, may be associated with improved mental health among IVF-ET patients.