Citation Information :
Banerjee AB, Jain P, Choudhary K, Banerjee A. Primary Infertility: A Rural-based Study of Associated Risk Factors in North-west Part of India. Int J Infertil Fetal Med 2023; 14 (1):42-46.
Background: The inability to conceive is experienced as a stressful situation and has an impact on multiple dimensions of health for both individual and society. Despite the significant concerns of infertility, estimation of its prevalence is limited.
Infertility is seen as a stressful situation and affects many aspects of life for the individual and the community. Despite the remarkable trepidations of not having children, estimation of its prevalence is limited.
Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and establish a relationship with sociodemographic factors of primary infertility.
Materials and methods: The study was a community-based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted from April to May 2021 in a rural health training center (RHTC) area among 1860 eligible couples aged 18–49 years. A complete enumeration of all the houses was done to list all the eligible couples residing in the area. Data were collected by a face-to-face interview on a house-to-house visit by interns posted in RHTC using a predesignated, pretested semi-structured data collection tool. The data collected were compiled and entered in an MS Excel sheet and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 23 (SPSS Inc., New York, USA). Categorical variables were expressed in actual numbers and percentages. Categorical variables were compared using Pearson's Chi-square.
Result: The overall prevalence of primary infertility in our study was found to be 7.25%. The percentage of women with primary infertility increased with higher age-groups. Sociodemographic factors which had a statistically significant association with primary infertility were age at marriage (p < 0.01), religion (p < 0.01), literacy (p < 0.03), occupation (p < 0.01), socioeconomic status (p < 0.001), family history of infertility (p < 0.02), and addiction (p < 0.03). Physiological factors that had a statistically significant association with infertility were body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.001), age of menarche (p < 0.03), and menstrual pattern (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: The findings of this study can benefit healthcare providers and policymakers in providing enhanced reproductive services to the rural population.
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