Correlation of “Etiology of Infertility” with “Satisfaction with Life” and “Mood disorders” in Couples Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Behnaz Navid (IR), Elaheh Karimi (IR), Maryam Mohammadi (IR), Samira Vesali (IR), Reza Omani Samani (IR)
[Navid] Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran, [Karimi] Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, [Mohammadi] Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, [Vesali] Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, [Omani Samani] Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR
Objective: The purpose of our study was to compare common psychological symptoms and life satisfaction in husband and wives according to the infertility diagnosis. Study design: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 248 infertile couples, between November1, 2014, and February 28, 2015 in Iran. We used three questionnaires. First: a demographic questionnaire. Second: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale which is a 14-item self-report instrument and composed of two sub scales: anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D). Third: Satisfaction with Life Scale which includes 5 items. Both our questionnaire had been validated for Iran population. Result: In couples with male factor infertility, the mean score of anxiety in wives was significantly higher than their husbands (p<0.001). When the cause of infertility was female factor, the wives appeared significantly more anxious (p<0.001) and depressed (p=0.004) than their husbands. Male patients, those with unknown and female factors are more satisfied with life than other male patients (P=0.022). Also, the depression was significantly higher among the couples in which the wives’ educational level was above their husbands (p=0.045). Conclusion: Our findings showed that when the infertility etiology was “male factor”, “female factors” or “unexplained”, wives also showed strongly significantly higher anxiety than their husbands. Also, in couples suffered from the “female factor” infertility, wives showed significantly more depression than their husbands.