The Effect of Chewing Gum on Stress in Women with Unexplained Infertility

Year 2024, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 73 - 80, 08.04.2024

Tuğba Kartal Tuğba Tahta Yeliz Kaya Vehbi Yavuz Tokgöz Nezihe Kızılkaya Beji Ahmet Basar Tekin

https://doi.org/10.48071/sbuhemsirelik.1400918

Abstract

Introduction: Infertile women may have difficulty coping with the stress caused by assisted reproductive methods.
Aim: It was aimed to investigate the effect of chewing gum on stress levels in women with unexplained infertility.
Method: Sixty - one women receiving in - vitro fertilization treatment in the tertiary care center were included in the study. A randomized controlled experimental design was established in the study. The group chewing gum for five minutes at least two times a day was called "Experimental Group - 1", the group chewing gum for 20 minutes at least two times a day was called "Experimental Group - 2", and the group not chewing gum was called "Control Group". Reproductive information and stress level data of infertile women were collected with the Descriptive Information Form and Fertility Problem Inventory.
Results: No statistically significant difference was found in comparing Fertility Problem Inventory total scores between the groups (p > 0.005). However, a statistically signifiant difference was found between the mean values of the denial of life without children, which was a subscale of the Fertility Problem Inventory score according to time in the Experimental Group - 2 group (p <0.005).
Conclusion: We believe that the positive effect of chewing gum on coping with stress may be an alternative intervention that may contribute positively to coping with the infertility treatment process and should be supported by other interventions.

Keywords

Assisted reproductive techniques, chewing gum, infertility, stress

Açıklanamayan İnfertil Kadınlarda Sakız Çiğnemenin Stres Üzerine Etkisi

Abstract

Giriş: İnfertil kadınlar, yardımlı reprodüktif yöntemlerin neden olduğu stres ile baş etmekte zorlanabilmektedirler.
Amaç: Nedeni açıklanamayan infertil kadınlarda sakız çiğnemenin stres düzeyi üzerine etkisinin incelenmesi amaçlandı.
Yöntem: Üçüncü basamak bir merkezde in - vitro fertilizasyon tedavisi alan 61 kadın çalışmaya dahil edildi. Araştırmada randomize kontrollü deneysel bir tasarım oluşturuldu. Günde en az iki kez beş dakika sakız çiğneyen grup “Deney Grubu - 1”, en az iki kez 20 dakika sakız çiğneyen grup “Deney Grubu - 2”, sakız çiğnemeyen grup ise “Kontrol Grubu” olarak adlandırıldı. İnfertil kadınların üreme bilgileri ve stres düzeyleri verileri Tanıtıcı Bilgi Formu ve Fertilite Sorun Envanteri ile toplanmıştır.
Bulgular: Gruplara göre sosyodemografik ve infertiliteye özgü özellikler arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark bulunmamıştır. Gruplar arası Fertilite Sorunu Envanteri toplam puanlarının karşılaştırılmasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark bulunamamıştır (p > 0,05). Ancak “Deney Grubu - 2” grubu zamanlara göre Fertilite Sorunu Envanteri alt ölçeklerinden çocuksuz yaşamın reddi ölçek puanı ortalama değerleri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark bulunmuştur (p < 0,005).
Sonuç: Sakız çiğnemenin stres ile baş etmeye sağladığı olumlu etkinin, infertilite tedavisi sürecinde kadınların yaşadığı stres düzeyini azaltmada dolaylı olarak da olsa azalma sağladığı dolayısıyla infertilite tedavi süreci ile baş etme üzerine olumlu katkı sağlayabilecek alternatif bir girişim olabileceği ve başka girişimlerle desteklenmesi gerektiği düşünülmektedir

Keywords

Ciklet, infertilite, stress, yardımlı reprodüktif yöntemler

References

• Allen, A.P., & Smith, A.P. (2015). Chewing gum: cognitive performance, mood, well-being, and associated physiology. BioMed Research International, 2015. doi: 10.1155/2015/654806
• An, Y., Sun, Z., Li, L., Zhang, Y., & Ji, H. (2013). Relationship between psychological stress and reproductive outcome in women undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment: psychological and neurohormonal assessment. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 30(1), 35-41. doi: 10.1007/s10815-012-9904-x
• Campagne, D.M. (2006). Should fertilization treatment start with reducing stress? Human Reproduction, 21(7), 1651-1658. doi: 10.1093/humrep/del078
• De Berardis, D., Mazza, M., Marini, S., Del Nibletto, L., Serroni, N., Pino, M.C., … Martinotti, G. (2014). Psychopathology, emotional aspects and psychological counselling in infertility: A review. Clinica Terapeutica, 165(3), 163-169. doi: 10.7417/CT.2014.1716
• Donarelli, Z., Gullo, S., Lo Coco, G., Marino, A., Scaglione, P., Volpes, A., & Allegra, A. (2015). Assessing infertility-related stress: the factor structure of the Fertility Problem Inventory in Italian couples undergoing infertility treatment. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 36(2), 58-65. doi: 10.3109/0167482X.2015.1034268
• Eren, N. (2008). İnfertil çiftlerde algılanan sosyal desteğin infertilite ile ilişkili stres ve evlilik uyumu üzerine etkisi. Yayımlanmamış Uzmanlık Tezi, Gazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Psikiyatri Anabilim Dalı, Ankara.
• Goker, A., Yanikkerem, E., Birge, O., & Kuscu, N.K. (2018). Quality of life in Turkish infertile couples and related factors. Human Fertility, 21(3), 195–203. doi: 10.1080/14647273.2017.1322223
• Hollingworth, H.L. (1939). Chewing as a technique of relaxation. Science, 90(2339), 385-387. Johnson, A.J., Jenks, R., Miles, C., Albert, M., & Cox, M. (2011). Chewing gum moderates multi-task induced shifts in stress, mood, and alertness. A re-examination. Appetite, 56(2), 408-411. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2010.12.025
• Klonoff-Cohen, H., Chu, E., Natarajan, L., & Sieber, W. (2001). A prospective study of stress among women undergoing in vitro fertilization or gamete intrafallopian transfer. Fertility and Sterility, 76(4), 675-687. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(01)02008-8 Konno, M., Takeda, T., Kawakami, Y., Suzuki, Y., Kawano, Y., Nakajima, K., … Sakatani, K. (2016). Relationships between gum-chewing and stress. Oxygen Transport to Tissue XXXVII, 343-349.
• Kubo, K., Iinuma, M., & Chen, H. (2015). Mastication as a stress-coping behavior. BioMed Research International, Epub 2015. doi: 10.1155/2015/876409
• Luo, J., Xia, M., & Zhang, C. (2022). The effects of chewing gum on reducing anxiety and stress: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, Epub 2022. doi: 10.1155/2022/8606693
• Newton, C.R., Sherrard, W., & Glavac, I. (1999). The Fertility Problem Inventory: Measuring perceived infertility-related stress. Fertility and Sterility, 72(1), 54-62. doi: 10.1016/S0015-0282(99)00164-8
• Ono, Y., Kataoka, T., Miyake, S., Cheng, S.J., Tachibana, A., Sasaguri, K.I., & Onozuka, M. (2008). Chewing ameliorates stress-induced suppression of hippocampal long-term potentiation. Neuroscience, 154(4), 1352–1359. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.04.057
• Research Randomizer Software. Retrieved from (11.11.2020): https://www.randomizer.org.
• Rooney, K.L., & Domar, A.D. (2022). The relationship between stress and infertility. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, Epub 2022. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2018.20.1/klrooney
• Royani, Z., Heidari, M., Vatanparast, M., Yaghmaei, F., Sarcheshme, A.K., & Majomerd, J.K. (2019). Predictors of quality of life in infertile couples. Journal of Menopausal Medicine, 25(1), 35-40. doi: 10.6118/jmm.2019.25.1.35
• Sasaki-Otomaru, A., Sakuma, Y., Mochizuki, Y., Ishida, S., Kanoya, Y., & Sato, C. (2011). Effect of regular gum chewing on levels of anxiety, mood, and fatigue in healthy young adults. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health: CP & EMH, 7, 133-139 doi: 10.2174/1745017901107010133
• Scholey, A., Haskell, C., Robertson, B., Kennedy, D., Milne, A., & Wetherell, M. (2009). Chewing gum alleviates negative mood and reduces cortisol during acute laboratory psychological stress. Physiology & Behavior, 97(3-4), 304-312. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.028
• Smith, A. (2010). Effects of chewing gum on cognitive function, mood and physiology in stressed and non-stressed volunteers. Nutritional Neuroscience, 13(1), 7-16. doi: 10.1179/147683010X12611460763526
• Smith, A.P., Chaplin, K., & Wadsworth, E. (2012). Chewing gum, occupational stress, work performance and wellbeing. An intervention study. Appetite, 58(3), 1083-1086. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.02.052
• Smith, A.P., & Woods, M. (2012). Effects of chewing gum on the stress and work of university students. Appetite, 58(3), 1037-1040. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.02.054
• Sominsky, L., Hodgson, D.M., McLaughlin, E.A., Smith, R., Wall, H.M., & Spencer, S.J. (2017). Linking stress and infertility: A novel role for ghrelin. Endocrine Reviews, 38(5), 432-467. doi: 10.1210/er.2016-1133
• Terzioglu, F., Turk, R., Yucel, C., Dilbaz, S., Cinar, O., & Karahalil, B. (2016). The effect of anxiety and depression scores of couples who underwent assisted reproductive techniques on the pregnancy outcomes. African Health Sciences, 16(2), 441-450. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v16i2.12
• Torney, L.K., Johnson, A.J., & Miles, C. (2009). Chewing gum and impasse-induced self-reported stress. Appetite, 53(3), 414-417. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2009.07.009
• Weijenberg, R.A.F., & Lobbezoo, F. (2015). Chew the pain away: Oral habits to cope with pain and stress and to stimulate cognition. Biomed Research International, Epub 2015. doi: 10.1155/2015/149431
• Xu, H., Ouyang, N., Li, R., Tuo, P., Mai, M., & Wang, W. (2017). The effects of anxiety and depression on in vitro fertilisation outcomes of infertile Chinese women. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 22(1), 37-43. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2016.1218031
• Yaman Sözbir, Ş., Ayaz Alkaya, S., & Bayrak Kahraman, B. (2019). Effect of chewing gum on stress, anxiety, depression, self‐focused attention, and academic success: A randomized controlled study. Stress and Health, 35(4), 441-446. doi: 10.1002/smi.2872
• Yu, H., Chen, X., Liu, J., & Zhou, X. (2013). Gum chewing inhibits the sensory processing and the propagation of stress-related information in a brain network. PloS One, 8(4), e57111. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057111
• Zibell, S., & Madansky, E. (2009). Impact of gum chewing on stress levels: online self-perception research study. Current Medical Research and Opinion, 25(6), 1491-1500. doi: 10.1185/03007990902959283