Abstract
Patients with infertility show considerable distress along with significant psychiatric morbidity and lower quality of life than others without infertility. The current study aimed at exploring the psychiatric morbidity and quality of life in couples with infertility while comparing gender differences among those with infertility. The sample was 31 couples attending the infertility clinic who were interviewed and screened using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview version 6.0.0 and the WHO Quality of life brief questionnaire. 45.16% of the total study population showed some psychiatric disorder. The quality of life (QOL) scores in couples with infertility and psychiatric morbidity was lower than those without any psychopathology. No major difference across gender was observed except in the social domain QOL scores where females had better scores (p = 0.017). Addressing psychopathology in couples with infertility is must in clinical practice with an aim to improve their overall quality of life.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
De Berardis D, Mazza M, Marini S, Del Nibletto L, Serroni N, Pino MC, Valchera A, Ortolani C, Ciarrocchi F, Martinotti G, Di Giannantonio M. Psychopathology, emotional aspects and psychological counselling in infertility: a review. Clin Ter. 2014;165(3):163–9.
Mascarenhas MN, Flaxman SR, Boerma T, Vanderpoel S, Stevens GA. National, regional, and global trends in infertility prevalence since 1990: a systematic analysis of 277 health surveys. PLoS Med. 2012;9(12):e1001356.
El Kissi Y, Romdhane AB, Hidar S, Bannour S, Idrissi KA, Khairi H, Ali BB. General psychopathology, anxiety, depression and self-esteem in couples undergoing infertility treatment: a comparative study between men and women. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2013;167(2):185–9.
Sbaragli C, Morgante G, Goracci A, Hofkens T, De Leo V, Castrogiovanni P. Infertility and psychiatric morbidity. Fertil Steril. 2008;90(6):2107–11.
Greil AL, Slauson-Blevins K, McQuillan J. The experience of infertility: a review of recent literature. Soc Health Illness. 2010;32(1):140–62.
Domar AD, Zuttermeister PC, Friedman R. The psychological impact of infertility: a comparison with patients with other medical conditions. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 1993;14(Suppl):45–52.
Greil AL, McQuillan J, Lowry M, Shreffler KM. Infertility treatment and fertility-specific distress: a longitudinal analysis of a population-based sample of US women. Soc Sci Med. 2011;73(1):87–94.
Galhardo A, Pinto-Gouveia J, Cunha M, Matos M. The impact of shame and self-judgment on psychopathology in infertile patients. Hum Reprod. 2011;26(9):2408–14.
Kumar L, Kumar A, Mittal S, Sumuna G, Bahadur A, Maiti L. Psychological distress measurement among infertile indian women undergoing in vitro fertilization. Indian J Public Health Res Dev. 2013;4(3):164–9.
Galhardo A, Cunha M, Pinto-Gouveia J. Psychological aspects in couples with infertility. Sexologies. 2011;20(4):224–8.
Peterson B, Boivin J, Norré J, Smith C, Thorn P, Wischmann T. An introduction to infertility counseling: a guide for mental health and medical professionals. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2012;29(3):243–8.
Sheehan DV, Lecrubier Y, Sheehan KH, Amorim P, Janavs J, Weiller E, Hergueta T, Baker R, Dunbar GC. The mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI): the development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59(suppl 20):22–33.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual for the classification of psychiatric disorders—4th edition (DSM-IV). New York: American Psychiatric Publishing; 1994.
World Health Organization. International classification of diseases. 10th ed. Geneva: WHO (ICD-10); 1992.
Skevington SM, Lotfy M, O’Connell KA. The World Health Organization’s WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. A report from the WHOQOL group. Qual Life Res. 2004;13(2):299–310.
Burns LH. Psychiatric aspects of infertility and infertility treatments. Psychiatry Clin North Am. 2007;30(4):689–716.
Stanton AL, Dunkel-Schetter C. Infertility: perspectives from stress and coping research. New York: Springer Science & Business Media; 2013.
Gerrity DA. A biopsychosocial theory of infertility. Family J. 2001;9(2):151–8.
Khodarahimi S, Hosseinmirzaei S, Bruna MM. The role of infertility in mental health, psychological distress and sexual dysfunction in a sample of Iranian women. Women Ther. 2014;37(1–2):178–94.
Miles LM, Keitel M, Jackson M, Harris A, Licciardi F. Predictors of distress in women being treated for infertility. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 2009;27(3):238–57.
Van der Akker OB. Coping, quality of life and psychological symptoms in three groups of subfertile women. Patient Educ Couns. 2005;57(2):183–9.
Chachamovich JR, Chachamovich E, Ezer H, Fleck MP, Knauth D, Passos EP. Investigating quality of life and health-related quality of life in infertility: a systematic review. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2010;31(2):101–10.
Galhardo A, Pinto-Gouveia J, Cunha M, Matos M. The impact of shame and self-judgment on psychopathology in infertile patients. Hum Reprod. 2011;26(9):2408–14.
Volgsten H, Svanberg AS, Ekselius L, Lundkvist Ö, Poromaa IS. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in infertile women and men undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment. Hum Reprod. 2008;23(9):2056–63.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
None.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sule, R., Gupte, S. & De Sousa, A. A Study on Quality of Life and Psychopathology in Couples with Infertility. J. Psychosoc. Rehabil. Ment. Health 4, 19–22 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-016-0071-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-016-0071-8