Prevalence of depression and its determinant factors among infertile patients in Iran based on the PHQ-9

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders among infertile patients. We aimed to determine the prevalence of depression in infertile patients and to identify demographic and fertility characteristics associated with this disorder. In this cross-sectional study, a random sample of 1506 people with infertility from a referral infertility center in Tehran, Iran were invited to participate. We collected data between May and October 2017. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The relationships between depression and demographic/fertility characteristics were explored using simple and multiple logistic regression with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The mean total PHQ-9 score was 7.05 (SD = 6.03). Using a cut-off value of 10, the prevalence of depression was 30.5%. Depression was significantly associated with being female (OR = 2.71, 95% CI = 2.10–3.50), long infertility duration (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01–1.08), failure in previous treatment (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.10–1.81), and self-cause of infertility compared to partner-cause of infertility (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.03–1.92). The prevalence of depression in this study was considerably higher than general population estimates. This disorder was more prevalent in women, patient with long infertility duration, treatment failure, and self-cause of infertility. These findings deserve significant attention in health care planning and programs for this population.