Depressive ranges in infertile couples with male factor

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Depression is not uncommon among infertile couples. The objective of the study is to analyze factors that predict depression in these couples, when they are in Assisted Reproduction Techniques programs. Materials and method: We analyze the level of depression in couples referred from the Human Reproduction Unit to study the male factor using the Beck Depression Inventory and the clinical information contained in the SARAplus program. Results: Depressive ranges appear in approximately half of the participants. The degree of depression correlates in a statistically significant way between both members of the couple. Among the analyzed clinical factors, we observed relational tendency between depression and obesity and depression and smoking. Conclusions: Depression in infertile couples is a fact. ART specialists should be on the lookout for symptoms of depression in order to provide patients psychological and psychiatric care and treatments, as part of the overall therapeutic framework for infertility. (AU)