The prevalence of anxiety and depression and their related factors among Iranian infertile patients
Saman Maroufizadeh (IR), Mahsa Babaiyan (IR), Azadeh Ghaheri (IR), Payam Amini (IR), Behnaz Navid (IR), Reza Omani Samani (IR)
[Maroufizadeh] Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran, [Babaiyan] Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran, [Ghaheri] Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran, [Amini] Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran, [Navid] Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran, [Omani Samani] Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR,
Context: Infertility is a medical condition that has many negative psychological, social and cultural consequences. Two of the most common consequences of infertility are anxiety and depression and previous studies indicated that the prevalence of these distresses in infertile patients is higher than general population. Objective: To determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression and their associated factors among Iranian infertile patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a referral fertility center in Tehran, Iran from January 2014 to March 2015. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was administrated to all participants. Patient(s): 1128 people (479 men and 649 women) with fertility problem. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Anxiety and depression. Result(s): The prevalence rates of anxiety and depression were 49.6% and 33.0%, respectively. Based on adjusted analysis, females were 2.26 times more likely to have anxiety symptoms than males (OR=2.26, 95% CI: 1.75-2.90), while depression rate was not related to sex (OR=1.09, 95% CI: 0.84-1.42). Patients with ≥ 5 years infertility duration were 1.51-fold and 1.30-fold more likely than others to have anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Conclusions: Our results show that the prevalence of anxiety and depression were very high in Iranian infertile patients. Thus, there may be a need for infertile patients to receive ongoing psychological interventions and support that matches their background during assisted reproductive technology in order to reduce level of anxiety and depression.