Prevalence and Associated Factors of Infertility among Married Couples of Kunnathukal Panchayath in Trivandrum District.

Background: Infertility is a serious health issue worldwide, and it has been a neglected area among studies related to maternal and child health. There is a need for evidence-based knowledge regarding the prevalence of infertility and its determinants. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of infertility and its associated factors among married couples residing at Kunnathukal Panchayath in Trivandrum district.

Materials and methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1270 married couples residing at Kunnathukal Panchayath, selected using a cluster sampling technique. Data was collected using a pretested predesigned semi-structured questionnaire, entered into MS Excel, and analyzed using SPSS version 20. The Chi-square test, Fischer's exact test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used as tests of significance. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to find independent predictors of infertility. P value < 0.05 was considered as statistical significance.

Results: Prevalence of infertility was found to be 12%, and among them, majority (65.8%) had primary infertility. The factors found to be significantly associated with infertility are occupation of females, age at time of menarche, dysmenorrhea, type of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, fibroid uterus, hypothyroidism, and BMI. In multivariate analysis, dysmenorrhea, type of dysmenorrhea, and uterine fibroid emerged as predictors of infertility.

Conclusion: Prevalence of infertility was found to be 12% in this study, which is almost similar to our state's average (10.5%) according to DLHS-3. Dysmenorrhea, type of dysmenorrhea, and uterine fibroid emerged as predictors of infertility. The preventive and intervention activities addressing infertility should give more priority to these predictors.