The Relationship between Fatigue, Health-Promoting Behavior, and Depression among Infertile Women

As the number of infertile couples has grown, many infertile women have experienced depression during the diagnosis and treatment of their infertility. This study aimed to identify the factors related to depression in infertile women who underwent reproductive treatments.

The study subjects were 149 infertile women who underwent reproductive treatments. The data were collected by self-administered questionnaires from August 1 to December 24, 2018. The questionnaire consisted of questions about fatigue, health-promoting behavior, and depression. Analyses of the descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, correlation, and multiple regression were conducted using the SPSS 25.0 Windows program.

Thirty-six of the women in the study (24.2%) were in the probably depressed group and 113 (75.8%) were in the definitely depressed group and 100% of the subjects experienced symptoms of depression. Depression was positively correlated with fatigue and negatively correlated with health-promoting behavior. Multiple regression analysis revealed that fatigue and interpersonal relationships were factors significantly related to depression in the model (p<.001), with an explanatory power of 42.6%.

The results confirmed that fatigue and interpersonal relationships, which is a subfactor of health-promoting behavior, were factors related to depression. To alleviate depression in infertile women, efforts should be made to identify and reduce psychological and physical fatigue. In addition, minimizing relational difficulties that they experience during an infertility diagnosis and treatment and strengthening positive interpersonal relationships can be positive strategies to alleviate depression.