Psychiatric disorders in women with fertility problems: results from a large Danish register-based cohort study.
If treatment doesn't work for us, what does follow-up look like — is anyone going to check on how I'm coping in the year after we stop, or does the clinic relationship just end?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Only psychiatric conditions severe enough to require hospitalisation were captured, so ordinary depression and anxiety treated in primary care are invisible here — the absolute risks are small and the affective-disorder result should not be read as evidence that unsuccessful treatment protects against depression.
Among 98,320 Danish women evaluated for fertility problems between 1973 and 2008 and followed through national registries, the 45.5% who did not go on to give birth had a modestly higher rate of hospitalisation for any mental disorder than those who did (393 vs 353 cases per 100,000 person-years; hazard ratio 1.17, 95% CI 1.11-1.25). The excess was concentrated in alcohol and substance-use disorders (HR 2.02) and psychoses (HR 1.46); risk of hospitalisation for affective disorders was slightly lower (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.81-0.99), not higher.
Worth asking
If treatment doesn't work for us, what does follow-up look like — is anyone going to check on how I'm coping in the year after we stop, or does the clinic relationship just end?
What to watch for
Evidence quality tells you whether to trust the finding — not whether the treatment is safe. These are the risks this research reports.
- Fertility & pregnancy risk
Source
Psychiatric disorders in women with fertility problems: results from a large Danish register-based cohort study. — Baldur-Felskov B, Kjaer SK, Albieri V, et al. (2013)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des422
DOI: 10.1093/humrep/des422
How this was scored
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 98,320
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Where we put this study in context
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 76 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Only psychiatric conditions severe enough to require hospitalisation were captured, so ordinary depression and anxiety treated in primary care are invisible here — the absolute risks are small and the affective-disorder result should not be read as evidence that unsuccessful treatment protects against depression. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Psychiatric disorders in women with fertility problems: results from a large Danish register-based cohort study. — Baldur-Felskov B, Kjaer SK, Albieri V, et al. (2013). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1093/humrep/des422. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Cohort study. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.