The effect of serum calcium on the association of depression with infertility among U.S. women

This study aimed to explored the association between depressive symptoms and infertility among U.S. women, and the effect of serum calcium on this association. We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2018), relating to women aged 20–45 years. Depressive symptoms were determined using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9 scores ≥10), and interview data were used to identify self-reported infertility. Of 2708 women (mean age: 32.7 ± 7.5 years), 274 were depressed and 12.0 % self-reported being “ever-infertile.” Depressive symptoms were associated with infertility in multivariable logistic regression (OR, 1.62; 95 % CI, 1.11–2.38). Depressive symptoms were associated with infertility among participants who were obese (OR, 1.68; 95 % CI, 1.03–2.74), had not received psychological counseling (OR, 1.60; 95 % CI, 1.03–2.50), were antidepressant users (OR 3.22; 95 % CI, 1.15–9.00), and had high serum calcium levels (OR, 2.05; 95 % CI, 1.25–3.35). A significant interaction between serum calcium and depression was observed for infertility (P = .038, interaction likelihood ratio test). In sensitivity analyses, the association between depressive symptoms and infertility remained after excluding women aged ≥35 years (OR, 1.87; 95 % CI, 1.08–3.23), lowering the cut-off for PHQ-9 scores (≥5) (OR, 1.48; 95 % CI, 1.12–1.96), excluding women with some gynecological diseases (OR, 1.63; 95 % CI, 1.07–2.49), and using inverse probability of treatment weighting (OR, 1.64; 95 % CI, 1.17–2.31). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that depression is associated with infertility among U.S. women and serum calcium may have an effect on the association. Interventions such as serum calcium reduction, weight management and psychosocial counseling for infertility treatment in individuals with depression may be integrated into routine clinical practice. Additionally, more caution could be exercised when using antidepressants.