Psychosocial factors at work and fertility and menstrual disorders: a systematic review

Objective This systematic review aimed to evaluate the association between psychosocial factors at work and menstrual abnormalities or fertility by collecting the literature that had utilized a longitudinal or prospective cohort design. Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and Japan Medical Abstracts Society electronic databases were searched for published studies from inception to 26th February 2020. Study eligibility criteria The inclusion criteria for this systematic review were defined as follows: (P) Adult female workers (over 18 years old), (E) Presence of adverse psychosocial factors at work, (C) Absence of adverse psychosocial factors at work, and (O) Any menstrual cycle disorders, menstrual-related symptoms, or fertility. The study design was limited to prospective/longitudinal studies. Study appraisal and synthesis methods The included studies were descriptively summarized in a narrative format. Results Database searching yielded 12,868 abstracts. After the screening process, six studies were included. The outcomes were fertility (n=3), early menopause (n=1), endometriosis (n=1), and serum hormones (n=1). Three included studies presented significant findings: women with high job demands were significantly less likely to conceive; working over 40 hours per week and lifting or moving a heavy load >15 times per day significantly increased the duration of pregnancy attempts; women with rotating night shift work had increased risk of earlier menopause. All the study (n=3) that examined the association of night shift/rotating work with fertility outcomes showed no significant difference. No study investigated the association of psychosocial factors at work with menstrual abnormality. Conclusion This review revealed insufficient high-level evidence on the association of psychosocial factors at work with fertility and menstrual disorders. Future well-designed studies are needed. Trial registration The study protocol was registered at the UMIN registry (registration number: UMIN000039488). The registration date is 14th Feb 2020. URL: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-bin/ctr/ctr_view_reg.cgi?recptno=R000044704 Review protocol Protocol paper is available in preprint format. URL: https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-179301/v1/48845b10-5ec4-4d48-8918-3dcf0e0edded.pdf?c=1631873381 Condensation This systematic review evaluated the association between psychosocial factors at work and fertility and menstrual disorders. A. Why was this study conducted? The longitudinal studies which examined the associations between psychosocial factors at work and menstrual abnormalities or fertility have not been systematically presented yet. B. What are the key findings? The outcomes were fertility (n=3), early menopause (n=1), endometriosis (n=1), and serum hormones (n=1), in the included six studies. All the study (n=3) that examined the association of night shift/rotating work with fertility outcomes showed no significant difference. C. What does this study add to what is already known? This review revealed insufficient high-level evidence on the association of psychosocial factors at work and menstrual abnormalities.