The mediating effect of health-promoting behaviors on the relationship between infertility stress and fertility-related quality of life of infertile women: a cross-sectional study.

Participants were recruited by convenience sampling from one region of South Korea, so the results may not apply to other groups. The study used a cross-sectional survey, so it measured stress, health-promoting behaviors, and quality of life at the same time rather than testing an intervention. Health-promoting behaviors were assessed by self-report questionnaire rather than objective lifestyle measures. The sample included only married women living with spouses and excluded self-reported serious mental illness, so it may not represent all infertile women. The paper did not specify infertility treatment methods, so findings may differ by treatment stage or type.

Conflict of interest: one author has been an associate editor of Women's Health Nursing since January 2021 but was not involved in the review process; otherwise no conflict of interest was declared. Funding: the work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government.

Do not conclude that increasing health-promoting behaviors will improve fertility-related quality of life or reduce infertility stress. This was a cross-sectional survey, so it reports associations, not intervention effects.