Infertility-Specific Quality of Life and Psychosocial Determinants in Infertile Couples: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study

Objective Infertility is a major public health problem with substantial psychological, social, and relational consequences that extend beyond impaired reproductive function. This study aimed to evaluate infertility-specific quality of life among infertile couples and to investigate its associations with psychological status, health-related quality of life, family functioning, and marital adjustment. Methods This prospective, single-center, cross-sectional study included 50 infertile couples (100 individuals) evaluated at a tertiary infertility center. Participants completed the Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Family Assessment Device (FAD), and Marital Adjustment Scale (MAS). Sex-based comparisons, Pearson correlation analyses, and multivariable linear regression with couple-level cluster-robust standard errors were performed to identify independent determinants of infertility-specific quality of life. Results Compared with men, women had significantly lower FertiQoL total and core scores and significantly higher anxiety and depression scores. Conversely, men demonstrated significantly higher physical and mental component scores on the SF-36. FertiQoL scores were strongly negatively correlated with HADS anxiety and depression scores and strongly positively correlated with both SF-36 component scores and marital adjustment (all p<0.001). Increasing family dysfunction was associated with poorer infertility-specific quality of life. In multivariable regression analysis accounting for within-couple clustering, only the HADS depression score remained an independent negative predictor of infertility-specific quality of life (B = −3.78, 95% CI −4.41 to −3.15; p<0.001) Conclusion Infertility is a multidimensional biopsychosocial condition that substantially affects psychological well-being, perceived health status, and couple relationships in addition to reproductive function. The greater psychological burden observed among women highlights the importance of gender-sensitive infertility care. Furthermore, depressive symptoms emerged as the only independent predictor of infertility-specific quality of life, underscoring the importance of routine psychological assessment and multidisciplinary psychosocial support as integral components of comprehensive infertility management.