Infertility and Depression: Frequency of Depression in Infertile Males

Background: There is increasing concern that the depression may be associated with infertility.

Objective: The current research was aimed to explore the frequency of depression in infertile males.

Study Design: This was a cross sectional study.

Duration: March 2016 to September 2018.

Place: Department of Medicine, PUMHS Nawabshah, Pakistan.

Materials and Methods: A total of 385 infertile male subjects who reported for the semen analysis at young age group were included in the study. Depression was assessed by using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Data was collected via self-made proforma and analyzed by using SPSS version 20.

Results: A total of 385 infertile males were studied. Mean age of individuals was 30.28+6.18 years. Mild depression was found in 34.8% patients, moderate depression was seen in 18.2% patients, severe depression was in 8.1% patients and very severe depression was in 9(2.3%) patients. Moderate and severe depression was higher in cases of Oligospermia and Azoospermia as compared to those having normal sperm count, while results were statistically insignificant (p=0.747).

Conclusions: In the observation of this study, there was a significant relationship between infertility and depression in infertile males. Depression was found in 64.6% of infertile males, ranging from mild to very severe levels.