Hair Cortisol Concentrations as a Biomarker to Predict a Clinical Pregnancy Outcome after an IVF Cycle: A Pilot Feasibility Study

Diana C. Santa-Cruz, Rafael A. Caparros-Gonzalez, Borja Romero-Gonzalez, Maria Isabel Peralta-Ramirez, Raquel Gonzalez-Perez and Juan Antonio García-Velasco
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Diana C. Santa-Cruz: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avenida de Atenas, s/n, 28922 Madrid, Spain
Rafael A. Caparros-Gonzalez: Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Borja Romero-Gonzalez: Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
Maria Isabel Peralta-Ramirez: Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
Raquel Gonzalez-Perez: Department of Pharmacology, CIBERehd, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs GRANADA, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
Juan Antonio García-Velasco: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Avenida de Atenas, s/n, 28922 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Our objective was to examine the feasibility of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) as a biomarker to predict clinical pregnancy outcomes and investigate its potential associations with perceived anxiety, resilience, and depressive symptoms. A total of 43 participants were assessed using HCC, the state trait anxiety inventory (STAI), resilience scale (RS), and the depression subscale of the symptom checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R). Participants were approached at their second consultation with the reproductive endocrinologist (T1), before scheduling their IVF cycle, and then 12 weeks after (T2), at their post-transfer visit with the study coordinators, before the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) pregnancy test. The logistic regression model revealed that HCC at T2 predicted 46% of a positive pregnancy test [R2 = 0.46, (ß = 0.11, p < 0.05)]. Pregnant women had higher levels of resilience at T2 (M = 149.29; SD = 17.56) when compared with non-pregnant women at T2 (M = 119.96; SD = 21.71). Significant differences were found between both groups in depression at T2 (t = 3.13, p = 0.01) and resilience at T2 (t = −4.89, p = 0.01). HCC might be a promising biomarker to calculate the probability of pregnancy in women using assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Keywords: infertility; pregnancy; cortisol; stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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