Direct and indirect effects of child abuse in woman and man fertility: a systematic review

Abstract

Child abuse is a public health problem worldwide. Due to the lack of records and complaints, mainly because of fear and stigma, the incidence is underestimated, which results in a deficiency of public policies to prevent the event and treat the victims. Child abuse is known to have serious consequences in adulthood, such as cognitive and emotional disorders, problems with social interaction and the development of aggressive behaviors, for example. Therefore, this study aims to assess whether exposure to abuse during childhood affects male and female fertility in adulthood. Thus, a systematic review of the literature will be carried out on the MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, PsycINFO and EMBASE databases, looking for articles in Portuguese and English that correlate childhood abuse (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect) with fertility /infertility. All studies retrieved in the initial search will be evaluated by title and abstract, individually, by two researchers. Articles with keywords relevant to the theme of this study will be selected for full reading. Review articles, editorials, case reports and comments will not be included in this study; only observational studies that have assessed the effect of childhood sexual abuse on fertility - directly or indirectly - in adult life. Articles that meet the inclusion criteria in the study will undergo a quality assessment and their data will be extracted into a standardized spreadsheet.