Comparison of various aspects of women’s lives between infertile and women with and without tubal ligation: a comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to compare anxiety, depression, body image, self-esteem, sexual function (SF), and quality of life (QoL) between infertile women and women with or without tubal ligation (TL).Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 women, distributed equally as infertile women, women with or without TL, who met the inclusion criteria. They were selected from the Royan Institute in Tehran (Iran) and a number of health care centers in Tehran (Iran) from May 2017 to February 2019. The subjects were asked to fill out the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Body Image Concern Inventory (BICI), and Rosenberg’ Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). One-way ANOVA was used to find the statistical differences between the three groups.Results: Mean scores of all FSFI domains were found to be lower in the TL women and the differences between the three groups were statistically significant in all domains. Women with TL had more female sexual dysfunction (FSD) (22.43±5.30 vs 24.79±4.74 vs 28.03±3.29, P˂0.001). There was a significant difference between the three groups in SF-12 scores (76.59±13.14 vs 68.49±14.47 vs 78.87±12.62, P˂0.001). Also, there was a significant difference between the three groups in anxiety, depression, and total scores HADS (P˂0.001). Infertile women had lower body image (P˂0.05) and self-esteem was lower in the TL group (P˂0.05).Conclusions: Our findings reveal the adverse effects of TL on the anxiety and depression, sexual life, body image, and QoL of women. It is recommended that the awareness and knowledge of health-care professionals regarding the side-effects of TL in the above-mentioned aspects of women’s lives should be increased and discussed with patients.