Sociodemographics and Risk Factors of Secondary Infertility in Pakistan: A Case-Control Study

Infertile couples fail to achieve a clinical pregnancy after engaging in regular unprotected sexual intercourse for 12 months. Primary infertility refers to their inability to conceive without any previous successful pregnancies. Secondary infertility is the inability to conceive for a period of one year after conceived at least once. This study aimed to explore the risk factors and sociodemographics of secondary infertility. This case-control study was conducted at the University Institute of Public Health using data from the Gilani Ultrasound Center. The data were collected 18 months after the approval of the synopsis, examining a total of 690 females (345 cases and 345 controls). All females in the case group participated if they were 20–45 years of age, had any parity, and had a confirmed diagnosis of secondary infertility. The study occurred after getting permission from the institutional review board. Every participant in the study provided written informed consent, indicating their voluntary agreement to participate in the research and use their data for study purposes and publication. This study applied independent sample t-test and chi-square test. Working females, obese females, females living in the joint family system, cousin marriage, relationship difficulties with husband, violence during previous pregnancy by husband, history of diabetes, hypertension, polycystic ovary syndrome, pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, menorrhagia, intermenstrual bleeding, history of abortion, history of breastfeeding, and history of urinary tract infection are associated with secondary infertility. The identified risk factors of secondary infertility are mostly modifiable, and managing these risk factors can prevent them.

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