Fertility and Sterility
Volume 87, Issue 3 , Pages 584-590, March 2007

Functional well-being is positively correlated with spiritual well-being in women who have spontaneous premature ovarian failure

  • June L. Ventura, B.A.

      Affiliations

    • Section on Women’s Health Research, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland
    • ,
  • O. Ray Fitzgerald, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
    • ,
  • Deloris E. Koziol, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
    • ,
  • Sharon N. Covington, M.S.W.

      Affiliations

    • Section on Women’s Health Research, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland
    • ,
  • Vien H. Vanderhoof, C.R.N.P.

      Affiliations

    • Section on Women’s Health Research, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland
    • Vien H. Vanderhoof and Lawrence M. Nelson are Commissioned Officers in the United States Public Health Service.
    • ,
  • Karim A. Calis, Pharm.D., M.P.H.

      Affiliations

    • Section on Women’s Health Research, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland
    • ,
  • Lawrence M. Nelson, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Section on Women’s Health Research, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland
    • Vien H. Vanderhoof and Lawrence M. Nelson are Commissioned Officers in the United States Public Health Service.
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Lawrence M. Nelson, M.D., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institutes of Health, CRC 1-3330, 10 Center Drive, MSC-1103, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1103 (FAX: 301-402-0574).

Received 22 February 2006; received in revised form 12 July 2006; accepted 12 July 2006. published online 26 January 2007.

Objective

To examine the relationship between spiritual well-being and functional well-being in women who have spontaneous premature ovarian failure.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

The Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center at the US National Institutes of Health.

Patient(s)

Women diagnosed with spontaneous premature ovarian failure (N = 138) at a median age of 28 years.

Intervention(s)

Administration of validated self-reporting instruments.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Functional Well-Being, Spiritual Well-Being, Meaning/Peace, and Faith scores.

Result(s)

We found a significant positive correlation between overall spiritual well-being and functional well-being scores. The Meaning/Peace subscale strongly correlated with functional well-being, explaining approximately 62% of the variance. In contrast, the Faith subscale was less strongly correlated with functional well-being, explaining only 7% of the variance. In multiple regression analysis evaluating the relative subscale contributions to functional well-being, only Meaning/Peace remained statistically significant. We found no significant associations between either spiritual well-being or functional well-being and age; age at diagnosis; time since diagnosis; or partner, children, or racial status.

Conclusion(s)

This study provides cross-sectional data supporting the need for prospective controlled studies. Strategies to improve spiritual well-being in the domains of meaning, purpose, and inner peace may provide a therapeutic approach to reduce the emotional suffering that accompanies the life-altering diagnosis of premature ovarian failure.

Key Words: Premature ovarian failure, ovarian insufficiency, infertility, coping, depression, anxiety, spirituality, religion, functional well-being

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 Supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland), and by a grant (J.L.V.) from the International Premature Ovarian Failure Association (Alexandria, VA).

PII: S0015-0282(06)04021-0

doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2006.07.1523

Fertility and Sterility
Volume 87, Issue 3 , Pages 584-590, March 2007

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