Background
Infertility is a condition with psychological, economic, medical implications, resulting in trauma and stress, particularly in a social setup, with a strong emphasis on child bearing.
Objective
To evaluate the effect of infertility on quality of life (QOL) and to determine what variables predict QOL in infertile men in Upper Egypt.
Patients and methods
This is a case–control study that included 200 married men, comprising 100 infertile men and 100 fertile men with at least one living child. Assessment of QOL was done using the 36-item Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey.
Results
Compared with fertile controls, infertile men had lower scores in the following variables: role limitations owing to emotional health, energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, social functioning, and general health ( < 0.001). Moreover, our study revealed that QOL scores were negatively affected by increasing patient's age, prolonged duration of infertility, and lower educational status. However, type of infertility had not been considered as a significant predictor of poor or good QOL.
Conclusions
Infertile men had lower QOL than controls, which confirms the need for psychological support for those men.