Emotional Challenges of Infertility: Analyzing Anxiety and Depression Among Couples in Twin Cities

Abstract

Objective The aim of this research is to evaluate the emotional challenges and determinants of anxiety and depression among infertile couples in the Twin Cities.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 369 infertile couples. The study was carried out over a six-month period from October 2024 to March 2025. Study subjects were evaluated through Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scales and demographics were recorded using the structured interviews. All the collected data was entered and analyze through SPSS v.25.

Results: The results of the study revealed that there were considerable gender differences in the level of psychological distress among subfertile people. Women had higher levels of anxiety (56.1% vs. 32.3%, p=0.002) and depression (47.7% vs. 27.6%, p=0.001) than men and severe levels of anxiety (8.4%) and severe levels of depression (6.5%) were more prevalent in women. The rates of depression were higher in people with primary subfertility (54.4% vs. 45.4% p=0.018) but there was no significant difference in the rates of anxiety between primary and secondary subfertility (p=0.145). The residential status also affected the patterns of anxiety: among the urban residents were majority had moderate (32.5%) and less anxiety level (21.0%) and majority (51.3%) of the rural inhabitants had no anxiety or higher number of couples had severe anxiety (13.7%, p=0.032). The socioeconomic status influenced the uptake of the treatment with the lowest uptake of (34.8%) reported by low-income couples and 65.2% cases who did not opt for any treatment belonged to low-income class.

Conclusion: Infertility presents a significant psychological burden especially on women and couples with primary subfertility. Mental health issues are further worsened with respect to living status in urban or rural areas as well as by low-income status. The findings support combined mental health screening, psychosocial interventions, and policies to enhance access to treatment particularly in vulnerable populations.

Keywords: Infertility, Anxiety, Depression, Gender Disparities, Mental Health, Socioeconomic Factors, Urban-Rural Differences.