Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety and depression of infertile women: A meta–analysis
Open accessAbstract
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
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Cites
A review of psychosocial interventions in infertility
Boivin, J. (2003) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(03)00138-2 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
A public health focus on infertility prevention, detection, and management
Macaluso, M., Wright-Schnapp, T., Chandra, A., Johnson, R., Satterwhite, C. L., Pulver, A., Berman, S. M., Wang, R. Y., Farr, S. L., & Pollack, L. A. (2008) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.09.046 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Infertility Counseling: A Comprehensive Handbook for Clinicians
Covington, S. N., & Burns, L. H. (2006) · Cited by 292 · see citing works
Impact of group psychological interventions on pregnancy rates in infertile women
Domar, A. D., Clapp, D., Slawsby, E. A., Dusek, J. A., Kessel, B., & Freizinger, M. (2000) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(99)00493-8 · Cited by 268 · see citing works
Brandes, M., van der Steen, J. O. M., Bokdam, S. B., Hamilton, C. J. C. M., de Bruin, J. P., Nelen, W. L. D. M., & Kremer, J. A. M. (2009) · Human Reproduction · doi:10.1093/humrep/dep340 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Hämmerli, K., Znoj, H., & Barth, J. (2009) · Human Reproduction Update · doi:10.1093/humupd/dmp002 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Domar, A. D., Seibel, M. M., & Benson, H. (1990) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(16)53275-0 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Differential efficacy of group and individual/couple psychotherapy with infertile patients
de Liz, T. M., & Strauss, B. (2005) · Human Reproduction · doi:10.1093/humrep/deh743 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Ying, L., Wu, L. H., & Loke, A. Y. (2016) · Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics · doi:10.1007/s10815-016-0690-8 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Pasch, L. A., Dunkel‐Schetter, C., & Christensen, A. (2002) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(02)03097-2 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Should fertilization treatment start with reducing stress?
Campagne, D. M. (2006) · Human Reproduction · doi:10.1093/humrep/del078 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Investigation into effectiveness of counseling on assisted reproductive techniques in Turkey
Terzioğlu, F. (2001) · Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology · doi:10.3109/01674820109049965 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Faramarzi, M., Alipor, A., Esmaeilzadeh, S., Kheirkhah, F., Poladi, K., & Pash, H. (2007) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2007.09.002 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Mindfulness-Based Program for Infertility: Efficacy study
Galhardo, A., Cunha, M., & Pinto-Gouveia, J. (2013) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.05.036 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Kashikar‐Zuck, S., Sil, S., Lynch-Jordan, A. M., Ting, T. V., Peugh, J., Schikler, K. N., Hashkes, P. J., Arnold, L. M., Passo, M. H., Richards-Mauzé, M. M., et al. (2013) · Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2012.12.019 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Psychosocial, treatment, and demographic predictors of the stress associated with infertility
Abbey, A., Halman, L. J., & Andrews, F. M. (1992) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(16)54787-6 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Psychiatric disorders among infertile and fertile women
Noorbala, A. A., Ramezanzadeh, F., Abedinia, N., & Naghizadeh, M. M. (2008) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-008-0467-1 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Internet-based support for infertile patients: a randomized controlled study
Hämmerli, K., Znoj, H., & Berger, T. (2009) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-009-9243-2 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
The meaning of parenthood and couples' reactions to male infertility
Edelmann, R. J., Humphrey, M. E., & Owens, D. J. (1994) · British Journal of Medical Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1994.tb01797.x · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Infertility as a psychological problem.
Podolska, M. Z., & Bidzan, M. (2011) · PubMed · Cited by 56 · see citing works
The Effect of Infertility on Marriage and Self‐concept
Hirsch, A. M., & Hirsch, S. M. (1989) · Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing · doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.1989.tb01611.x · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Faramarzi, M., Kheirkhah, F., Esmaeilzadeh, S., Alipour, A., Hjiahmadi, M., & Rahnama, J. (2008) · European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2008.07.012 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Kupka, M. S., Dorn, C., Richter, O. N., Schmutzler, A. G., van der Ven, H., & Kulczycki, A. (2003) · European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology · doi:10.1016/s0301-2115(03)00280-x · Cited by 36 · see citing works
(2009) · International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine (IJRM) · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Hansson, M., Bodlund, O., & Chotai, J. (2007) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2007.04.007 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Attitude of infertile women to child adoption in Nigeria.
Oladokun, A., Arulogun, O., Oladokun, R., Bello, F. A., Morhassan-Bello, I. O., Bambgoye, E. A., Adewole, I. F., & Ojengbede, O. A. (2010) · PubMed · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Mosalanejad, L., Koolaee, A. K., & Behbahani, B. M. (2012) · PubMed Central · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 28 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Golshani, F., Hasanpour, S., Mirghafourvand, M., & Esmaeilpour, K. (2021) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03283-2 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Masoumi, S. Z., Abdoli, S., Kazemi, F., Pilehvari, S., Ahmadpanah, M., Khodakarami, B., & Fazli, F. (2025) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-025-06533-9 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Karaahmet, A. Y., Bilgiç, F. Ş., Yılmaz, T., & Laleh, S. S. (2025) · Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology · doi:10.1080/0167482x.2025.2560828 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Psychosocial interventions for infertile couples: A scoping review
Sunil, S., & Anish, K. R. (2024) · Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction · doi:10.4103/apjr.apjr_43_24 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Marashi, Z., Behroozi, N., Haghighizadeh, M. H., Nikbakht, R., & Abbaspoor, Z. (2021) · International Journal of Infertility & Fetal Medicine · doi:10.5005/jp-journals-10016-1220 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Department of Psychology, F. O. H., Faraji, M., Alimadadi, H., Department of Psychology, F. O. H., Moshfeghi, N., Department of Psychology, F. O. H., Namazi, R., Department of Psychology, F. O. H., Seyed Jafari, J., Department of Psychology, F. O. H., et al. (2021) · Archives of Hygiene Sciences · doi:10.32598/ahs.10.3.215 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Several studies have used CBT to help women with infertility [40, 41].”
BackgroundBardideh, K., Jarareh, J., Bardideh, F., Bardideh, A., & Mofrad, M. (2022) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2022.2162024 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Aina, R. O., OWOPETU, C. A. D., & Y, A. I. (2023) · African Journal of Health Nursing and Midwifery · doi:10.52589/ajhnm-rizww5kd · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Efficacy of Cognitive Restructuring in Reducing Depression in Women with Infertility
Nawaz, S., Sultan, S., & Batool, A. (2025) · Social science review archives. · doi:10.70670/sra.v3i1.338 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Abdelhamied, M., Elbeltagy, E. S. F., Osman, N. E., Ahmed, R. A. A., & Saber, E. H. (2023) · Assiut Scientific Nursing Journal · doi:10.21608/asnj.2023.187708.1490 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Unified Protocol Application in Fertility Problems
Crespo-Delgado, E., Martínez‐Borba, V., Pejó, L. A., & Osma, J. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197564295.003.0008 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mostafavi, N. (2024) · International Journal of Psychological Studies · doi:10.5539/ijps.v16n2p8
Dutta, S., & Sengupta, P. (2024) · Integrated science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-72079-6_29 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation in Infertility
Gerlegiz, E. N. A., & Özgül, S. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-28741-0_20
- Authors
- Nikniaz, L., Abdolahi, H., Ghojazadeh, M., Abdi, S., Farhangi, M., & Nikniaz, Z.
- Affiliations
- Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Nikniaz, Leila
- Venue
- Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction
- Published
- 2019
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 251
- ISSN
- 2305-0500 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2982763597
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 0.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
- Keywords
- cognitive behavioral therapy, infertility, depression, anxiety, women, in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, psychological distress
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
