Worldwide prevalence, risk factors and psychological impact of infertility among women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

To assess the prevalence, risk factors and psychological impact of infertility among females. This review summarises the available evidence, effect estimates and strength of statistical associations between infertility and its risk factors. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, CINAHL and ScienceDirect were searched through 23 January 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The inclusion criteria involved studies that reported the psychological impact of infertility among women. We included cross-sectional, case-control and cohort designs, published in the English language, conducted in the community, and performed at health institution levels on prevalence, risk factors and psychological impact of infertility in women. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two reviewers independently extracted and assess the quality of data using the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis. The outcomes were assessed with random-effects model and reported as the OR with 95% CI using the Review Manager software.

Thirty-two studies with low risk of bias involving 124 556 women were included. The findings indicated the overall pooled prevalence to be 46.25% and 51.5% for infertility and primary infertility, respectively. Smoking was significantly related to infertility, with the OR of 1.85 (95% CI 1.08 to 3.14) times higher than females who do not smoke. There was a statistical significance between infertility and psychological distress among females, with the OR of 1.63 (95% CI 1.24 to 2.13). A statistical significance was noted between depression and infertility among females, with the OR of 1.40 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.75) compared with those fertile.