An investigation of the effects of infertility on Women’s quality of life: a case-control study

Abstract

Background Human instinctively desire to have offspring. Infertility can cause painful emotional experiences throughout the life mainly known as quality of life impairment. This study aimed to investigate the impact of infertility on a woman’s quality of life. Methods A number of 180 infertile and 540 fertile women participated in this matched case-control study. The cases were selected through a combination of multistage stratified and cluster sampling methods. For each infertile woman three fertile women were randomly selected. The data gathering instrument consisted of demographic variables and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Data collection was conducted through interview with participants. The multivariate marginal model and SPSS software 21 were used for data analyses with a significance level of 0.05. Results The results of the multivariate modeling show infertility can potentially affect various aspects of women’s quality of life such as physical health ( p < 0.001), mental health (p < 0.001), social health (p < 0.001) and the total score of quality of life (p < 0.001) significantly. Conclusion An infertile woman practice a relatively lower scores in QOL sub-scales of mental, physical and environmental health; while they experience a higher social health score than a fertile woman.

Factors influencing infertility-related quality of life in infertile women

“…구는 임신 여성과의 비교 또는 각각 영역의 요소들과 삶의 질과의 관련성을 확인한 연구가 대부분이었다. 즉, 난임 여성과 임신 여성 의 삶의 질 비교 [11,14], 우울, 불안, 난임 관련 스트레스 등의 심리 적 요소와 삶의 질과의 관련성 [8,9], 부부 친밀도와 삶의 질 관련성 [9,12], 삶의 질의 영역별 비교 [7], 인구학적 요소와 삶의 질과의 관 련성 연구 [14,15] 1) 난임 여성의 피로, 우울, 부부 친밀도와 난임 관련 삶의 질 정도 를 파악한다.…”

Comparison of Depression Severity and Sexual Satisfaction Between Fertile and Infertile Women in Iran: A Population Based Case-Control Study

“…Cultural and social factors may play a critical role in the psychological status of Iranian infertile women as well (8,11,30). Infertile women experience various forms of ignorance in the family and society, thus;…”

“…It may cause a number of psychological issues such as tension, anxiety, depression, low levels of self-esteem, and sexual dissatisfaction (5). The resulted psychosocial issues adversly affect female gender more than her spouse (6), especially in societies where childbearing is considered as a fundamental task of women (4,7,8). Therefore an infertile woman may present with high level of irritation which affect her relationship with others including her spouse.…”

“…Due to social and cultural value of fertility in Iran, study of infertility is very imperative (4,8,11). Previous studies in Iran have not been conclusive a population based case-control study model (22,23).…”

The Impact of Infertility on Various Aspects of Women's Lives in Comparison With Tubal Ligation Control: A Cross-sectional Study

“…Infertility is the inability to conceive after 12 months of frequent coitus without contraceptives, which accounts for 25 percent of couples in developing countries (3). Infertility imposes a great deal of psychological burden to the couples and has a negative effect on various aspects of their lives (4) and can increase marital con icts and sexual dysfunction (5). Anecdotal evidence suggests that infertility as a stressful condition doubles the risk of anxiety and depression in women (6).…”