Long-term life and partnership satisfaction in infertile patients: a 5-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the long-term effects of infertility on life and partnership satisfaction.

DESIGN

Longitudinal cohort study.

SETTING

A university outpatient andrology and gynecology infertility clinic.

PATIENT(S): 275 men and 272 women treated for infertility between August 2000 and December 2001.

INTERVENTION(S): None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (FLZ), the Partnership Questionnaire (PFB), and sociodemographic items at baseline (T1) and 5 years later (T2).

RESULT(S): Compared with a representative sample, our male and female participants had higher Finance and Partnership scores and lower Health scores on the FLZ at T1. They also had markedly higher PFB scores, with the exception of Conflict Behavior. After 5 years (T2), 101 men and 113 women rated the Partnership and Sexuality FLZ subscales as well as all the PFB subscales statistically significantly lower than at baseline. Only the women rated the Self-esteem FLZ subscale lower than at baseline (T1). Participants who became parents had lower Leisure and Partnership FLZ subscale scores, and fathers had lower Finance FLZ subscale scores.

CONCLUSION(S): Satisfaction declined over 5 years for both men and women, but only in the partnership-related domains. Women were more affected than men. The success of infertility treatment had only a minor influence on a couple's future satisfaction.