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Psychological Burden in Couples with Infertility and Its Association with Sexual Dysfunction

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Abstract

This study aimed to assess the rate and level of depression, anxiety, and stress among people with infertility and the association between psychological disorders and sexual dysfunction. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated 255 couples with infertility undergoing examination at a university hospital between January and December 2017. The assessment tools included the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT), and International Index of Erectile Function-15 (IIEF-15). The rates and mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress among wives were statistically significantly higher than among husbands. Additionally, there was a slight negative correlation between all these scores and FSFI score among wives. Similarly, these scores among husbands were slightly negatively correlated with IIEF-15 score and positively correlated with PEDT score. Development of a holistic approach to infertility management is necessary and psychological issues should be addressed together with sexual problems.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue University, 06 Ngo Quyen St, Hue City, Vietnam

    Thanh Tam Thi Ho, Minh Tam Le, Quang Vinh Truong, Vu Quoc Huy Nguyen & Ngoc Thanh Cao

  2. Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Hue University Hospital, Hue University, 06 Ngo Quyen St, Hue City, Vietnam

    Thanh Tam Thi Ho, Minh Tam Le & Ngoc Thanh Cao

Authors
  1. Thanh Tam Thi Ho
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  2. Minh Tam Le
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  3. Quang Vinh Truong
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  4. Vu Quoc Huy Nguyen
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  5. Ngoc Thanh Cao
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Contributions

HTTT, LMT and TQV participated in the study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript drafting and critical discussion. NVQH and CNT participated in data analysis, manuscript drafting and critical discussion. All authors were involved in drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content of the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Minh Tam Le.

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The authors have no competing financial or other interests to declare in relation to this manuscript.

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The dataset used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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All authors have provided consent for publication.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Ethics Committee of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Ho, T.T.T., Le, M.T., Truong, Q.V. et al. Psychological Burden in Couples with Infertility and Its Association with Sexual Dysfunction. Sex Disabil 38, 123–133 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-019-09612-4

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