Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review
IntroductionStress and infertility form a complex relationship. In line with this, various stress-related biological markers have been investigated in infertility.MethodsThis systematic review was performed using PRISMA guidelines (i) to report whether cortisol is highly present in infertile patient...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Endocrinology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1147306/full |
| _version_ | 1797791812570578944 |
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| author | Bheena Vyshali Karunyam Abdul Kadir Abdul Karim Isa Naina Mohamed Azizah Ugusman Wael M. Y. Mohamed Wael M. Y. Mohamed Ahmad Mohd Faizal Muhammad Azrai Abu Jaya Kumar |
| author_facet | Bheena Vyshali Karunyam Abdul Kadir Abdul Karim Isa Naina Mohamed Azizah Ugusman Wael M. Y. Mohamed Wael M. Y. Mohamed Ahmad Mohd Faizal Muhammad Azrai Abu Jaya Kumar |
| author_sort | Bheena Vyshali Karunyam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionStress and infertility form a complex relationship. In line with this, various stress-related biological markers have been investigated in infertility.MethodsThis systematic review was performed using PRISMA guidelines (i) to report whether cortisol is highly present in infertile patients compared to fertile control; (ii) to report whether there is any significant difference in the cortisol level in infertile subjects that conceive and those that didn’t at the end of assisted reproduction treatments. Original articles involving human (male and female) as subjects were extracted from four electronic databases, including the list of references from the published papers. Sixteen original full-length articles involving male (4), female (11), and both genders (1) were included.ResultsFindings from studies that compared the cortisol level between infertile and fertile subjects indicate that (i) Male: three studies reported elevated cortisol level in infertile patients and one found no significant difference; (ii) Female: four studies reported increased cortisol level in infertile subjects and three studies found no significant difference. Findings from studies that measured the cortisol level from infertile patients that conceived and those that didn’t indicate that (i) Male: one study reported no significant difference; (ii) Female: one study reported elevated cortisol in infertile patients that conceived, whereas two studies reported increased cortisol in infertile patients that was unable to conceive. Five studies found no significant difference between the groups.DiscussionIn the present review we only included the cortisol value that was measured prior to stimulation or IVF treatment or during natural or spontaneous cycles, despite this, there are still variations in the sampling period, assessment techniques and patients’ characteristics. Hence, at present, we are still unable to conclude that cortisol is significantly elevated in infertile patients. We warrant future studies to standardize the time of biological sample collection and other limitations that were addressed in the review to negate the unwanted influencing factors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:25:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d57d38a5064449b814b0db3d3243b1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2392 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:25:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Endocrinology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d57d38a5064449b814b0db3d3243b1c2023-06-30T05:13:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Endocrinology1664-23922023-06-011410.3389/fendo.2023.11473061147306Infertility and cortisol: a systematic reviewBheena Vyshali Karunyam0Abdul Kadir Abdul Karim1Isa Naina Mohamed2Azizah Ugusman3Wael M. Y. Mohamed4Wael M. Y. Mohamed5Ahmad Mohd Faizal6Muhammad Azrai Abu7Jaya Kumar8Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaBasic Medical Science Department, Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan, MalaysiaDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom, EgyptDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaIntroductionStress and infertility form a complex relationship. In line with this, various stress-related biological markers have been investigated in infertility.MethodsThis systematic review was performed using PRISMA guidelines (i) to report whether cortisol is highly present in infertile patients compared to fertile control; (ii) to report whether there is any significant difference in the cortisol level in infertile subjects that conceive and those that didn’t at the end of assisted reproduction treatments. Original articles involving human (male and female) as subjects were extracted from four electronic databases, including the list of references from the published papers. Sixteen original full-length articles involving male (4), female (11), and both genders (1) were included.ResultsFindings from studies that compared the cortisol level between infertile and fertile subjects indicate that (i) Male: three studies reported elevated cortisol level in infertile patients and one found no significant difference; (ii) Female: four studies reported increased cortisol level in infertile subjects and three studies found no significant difference. Findings from studies that measured the cortisol level from infertile patients that conceived and those that didn’t indicate that (i) Male: one study reported no significant difference; (ii) Female: one study reported elevated cortisol in infertile patients that conceived, whereas two studies reported increased cortisol in infertile patients that was unable to conceive. Five studies found no significant difference between the groups.DiscussionIn the present review we only included the cortisol value that was measured prior to stimulation or IVF treatment or during natural or spontaneous cycles, despite this, there are still variations in the sampling period, assessment techniques and patients’ characteristics. Hence, at present, we are still unable to conclude that cortisol is significantly elevated in infertile patients. We warrant future studies to standardize the time of biological sample collection and other limitations that were addressed in the review to negate the unwanted influencing factors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1147306/fullcortisolinfertilitysubfertilityHPAfertilitypregnancy |
| spellingShingle | Bheena Vyshali Karunyam Abdul Kadir Abdul Karim Isa Naina Mohamed Azizah Ugusman Wael M. Y. Mohamed Wael M. Y. Mohamed Ahmad Mohd Faizal Muhammad Azrai Abu Jaya Kumar Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review Frontiers in Endocrinology cortisol infertility subfertility HPA fertility pregnancy |
| title | Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review |
| title_full | Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review |
| title_short | Infertility and cortisol: a systematic review |
| title_sort | infertility and cortisol a systematic review |
| topic | cortisol infertility subfertility HPA fertility pregnancy |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1147306/full |
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