Prevalence of Depression Among Infertile Women at Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Screening for depression and understanding its predictors is essential as it can inform the type and extent of psychological intervention that needs to be provided before or during infertility treatment. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and associated factors among infertile women who received care at a Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine (CFRM) in Ethiopia.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study conducted at CFRM in St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (Ethiopia) on women with infertility over a period of 3 months, from November 11, 2019 to February 2020. Data were collected prospectively through face-to-face interviews with the study participants using PHQ-9. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Simple descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate regression analysis were performed as appropriate. Frequency, percentage, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) along with 95% CI were used to present the finding.

RESULTS

A total of 381 infertile women were approached, and 32 women did not respond, constituting a repose rate of 91.6%. Among the 349 infertile women included in the final analysis, the prevalence of depression was found to be 42.1% (147/349). Low monthly income (AOR = 4.4, 95% CI, 1.3-14.5), unemployment (AOR = 4.3, 95% CI, 1.2-11.5), history of divorce (AOR = 4.4. 95% CI, 1.4-13.0), and partner's low level of education (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI, 1.2-8.9) were associated with detection of depression among the infertile women included in the study.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of depression among infertile women is lower than reports from previous studies. Regardless of this relatively low prevalence, our study supports integration of depression screening and psychological treatment for those affected before and during infertility treatments, as a vital component of healthcare infertile women.