Effects of infertility on gender differences in marital relationship and quality of life: a case-control study of Turkish couples

Abstract

Objectives: Although there are many studies trying to evaluate the effect of infertility on marital relations (MR) and quality of life (QoL) in developed counties, there have been no studies in Turkey. As in many societies around the world, lack of pregnancy and the resulting childlessness are often highly stigmatized, leading to profound social suffering for infertile couples in Turkey.

Study design: This study was planned as a case-control study in order to investigate the effects of infertility on MR and QoL. It was conducted among 58 primary infertile and 51 fertile couples. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the World Health Organization QoL Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) were applied at the infertility department of the Istanbul University's faculty of medicine. The t-test, Mann-Whitney U, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used.

Results: The socio-demographic properties were similar for both groups. The QoL average score was higher for the infertile group. There were no gender differences in QoL for infertile couples. The total DAS score was higher than the cut-off score for both groups (114.44 ± 18.53 for infertile, 110.29 ± 18.28 for fertile couples; p>0.05). Infertile women's DAS and QoL scores were higher than the fertile women's (p<0.05). Other than in the social domain, all QoL scores were higher for infertile men than fertile men (p<0.05). There was a positive correlation between the DAS and QoL scores.

Conclusions: It was determined that infertility did not have a negative impact on MR and QoL measurements. There were no gender differences.