Associations Between Reproductive Disorders and Specific Physical, Mental, Personality, and Social Characteristics: A Narrative Review

ABSTRACT Background and Aims The present review aims to ascertain whether reproductive disorders are associated with specific physical, mental, personality, and social traits. This information may be used to support or reject the hypothesis on the origin of infecundity, which proposes that women/men with preferred characteristics, including high resource holding potential, genetic quality, and/or reproductive potential have advantage over women/men displaying less preferred traits in selecting partners with preferred traits. Methods A literature search of the reported associations of endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, diminished ovarian reserve in women < 35 years, and low semen quality with specific physical, mental, personality, and social characteristics was carried out using the PubMed database. Results Endometriosis is associated with lower body mass index and waist‐to‐hip ratio, greater breast‐to‐underbreast ratio, severe teenage acne, red hair, fair skin, nevi and freckles, light eyes, and high sensitivity to sun exposure. Polycystic ovary syndrome is linked to central adiposity, waist‐to‐hip ratio > 0.80, acne vulgaris, acanthosis nigricans, and hirsutism in both obese and lean women, and lower cognitive performance on memory, executive function, attention, information processing speed, and visuospatial skills. Diminished ovarian reserve in women < 35 years is associated with shorter cycle length and menstrual bleeding length, either shorter or longer than 4–6 days. Sperm quality is negatively correlated with body mass index, waist circumference, weight gain since age 17 years, extraversion, and psychoticism, but positively correlated with general intelligence. The four reproductive disorders analyzed are significantly associated with high levels of anxiety, stress, and/or depression, as well as economic burden (endometriosis) or lower socioeconomic status (polycystic ovary syndrome, diminished ovarian reserve, and low semen quality). Conclusion This study discloses specific physical, mental, personality, and social traits associated with four reproductive disorders. More efforts are warranted to evaluate traits associated with reproductive disorders using a multiethnic and multicultural viewpoint.