THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STRESS LEVELS OF IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF) PATIENTS AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT TRYING TO GET PREGNANT

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients’ stress levels, insomnia, and risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) relative to the amount of time each patient spent trying to get pregnant Design: Surveys were administered to 220 patients at a fertility clinic in Manhattan during the COVID-19 pandemic The surveys included a 13-item questionnaire regarding fertility plans in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, a 10-item Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire, a 7-item Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire, and a 21-item Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) questionnaire Materials and Methods: Surveys were administered online to 220 patients at Generation Next Fertility in Manhattan IVF patients were categorized according to the amount of time they spent trying to get pregnant (less than 6 months, between 6 months-1 year, between 1-2 years, between 2-3 years, between 3-4 years, and greater than 4 years) Multiple linear regression was run to determine if the amount of time patients spent trying to get pregnant was related to their Perceived Stress Scale scores, Insomnia Severity Index scores, and IES-R total scores We excluded individuals who did not answer the Perceived Stress Scale, Insomnia Severity Index, and IES-R questionnaires A p-value of less than 0 05 was considered as statistically significant Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between Perceived Stress Scale scores during the COVID-19 pandemic and attempting to get pregnant for less than 6 months (p=0 00837), between 1 year and 2 years (p=1 96e-08), between 2 and 3 years (p=7 93e-07), between 3 and 4 years (p=1 24e-06), and greater than 4 years (p=1 93e-05) The relationships between Insomnia Severity Index scores during the COVID-19 pandemic and attempting to get pregnant for between 6 months and 1 year (p=0 0462), between 1 year and 2 years (p=1 26e-05), between 2 and 3 years (p=0 00465), between 3 and 4 years (p=0 000685), and greater than 4 years (p=0 0114) were statistically significant There was a statistically significant relationship between IES-R scores during the COVID-19 pandemic and attempting to get pregnant for less than 6 months (p=0 003322), between 1 year and 2 years (p=9 22e-06), between 2 and 3 years (p=0 000671), between 3 and 4 years (p=0 000175), and greater than 4 years (p=0 008695 ) Spending between 3 and 4 years trying to get pregnant had the largest impact on the Perceived Stress Scale, Insomnia Severity Index, and IES-R scores Conclusions: Spending between 3 and 4 years attempting to get pregnant had the largest impact upon IVF patients’ perceived stress, insomnia severity, and risk of PTSD during the COVID-19 pandemic References: Christianson, Steven, and Joan Marren "The impact of event scale-revised (IES-R) " Medsurg Nurs 21 5 (2012): 321-322 Cohen, Sheldon, T Kamarck, and R Mermelstein "Perceived stress scale " Measuring stress: A guide for health and social scientists 10 (1994) Morin, Charles M , et al "The Insomnia Severity Index: psychometric indicators to detect insomnia cases and evaluate treatment response " Sleep 34 5 (2011): 601-608