Health-Related Quality of Life and its Predictive Factors among Infertile Women

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aimed to determine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its predictive factors among infertile women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on infertile women referring to Majidi Infertility Center (Tabriz, Iran). The data was collected through self-administered questionnaires including clinical and demographic characteristics and the Persian version of 36-item short form health survey (SF-36). One-sample t-test, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results: Overall, 1012 infertile women were studied. The quality of life scores of infertile women in all eight subscales were significantly lower than normative data for Iranian women. Low physical component summary was more frequent in younger [adjusted odds ratio (AOR):1.45; 95% CI: 1.07-1.96], less educated (AOR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.27-2.41), and low income (AOR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.06-2.16) participants. It was less frequent in individuals whose infertility duration was 3-9 years (AOR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.48-0.86), had male (AOR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.43-0.78) or female and male factors infertility (AOR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.30-0.78), or had a history of 1-2 in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Low mental component summary was associated with low income (AOR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.11-2.18) and unexplained cause of infertility (AOR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.32-0.56). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated low quality of life among infertile women. The findings suggested the need for providing this group, especially those at higher risk such as low educated or low income females, with necessary support.

Keywords: Quality of life, Infertility, Predictive factors, Women