Comparative study of levels of anxiety, depression and quality of life between fertile vs infertile women attending a tertiary care center

Abstract

Objective: The connection between psychological elements (stress, anxiety, and depression) and infertility is complex, influenced by multiple factors, and bidirectional. Infertile women are more likely to develop mental illnesses, marital dissatisfaction, and impaired quality of life compared to the individuals of the fertile group. Thusthe present study aimed to assess levels of anxiety, depression, and quality of life among infertile women compared to fertile women. Methods: This case-control study conducted at a tertiary care center recruited 100 nulliparous women. The control group (N=100) comprised normal parous women who had at least one child. Outcome measures included standardized tools such as the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire to assess the quality of life across multiple domains as well as the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to measure levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Results: Baseline socio demographic parameters were comparable between the two groups. The mean age of infertile women was 30.6±3.9 years compared to 31.5±3.2 years in fertile women (P=0.076). Using the WHOQOLBREF scale, we found that the quality of life was better in the fertile group compared to the infertile group through all the domains (P