Gender Differences in Anxiety, Depression, and Fertility-Related Quality of Life Among Infertile Couples: A...

Background/Objectives: Infertility is associated with considerable psychological distress and impaired quality of life; however, gender-related differences in these outcomes remain unclear. This study aimed to compare anxiety, depression, and fertility-related quality of life between women and men in infertile couples and to examine the relationships between psychological distress and fertility-specific quality of life. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 75 infertile women and their male partners attending the Reproductive Health and Infertility Outpatient Clinic. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), respectively. Fertility-related quality of life was evaluated using the Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) questionnaire. Group comparisons and correlation analyses were performed using appropriate statistical tests. Results: Females had significantly higher total anxiety scores than males (10.44 ± 10.04 vs. 6.18 ± 7.86, p = 0.004). Females also showed higher affective depressive symptom scores (3.21 ± 3.05 vs. 2.20 ± 2.70, p = 0.033). Males reported significantly higher overall FertiQoL scores than females (54.61 ± 4.79 vs. 52.42 ± 6.39, p = 0.019). Increased depression were significantly associated with poorer fertility-related quality of life in males (r = -0.463, p < 0.001). Cronbach's alpha coefficients demonstrated excellent internal consistency for BDI-II (0.905), BAI (0.922), and FertiQoL (0.879). Conclusions: Infertile females experience greater anxiety and poorer fertility-related quality of life than males. Psychological distress is strongly associated with reduced fertility-specific quality of life, highlighting the importance of routine psychosocial assessment in infertility care.