Determining the relationship between sleep quality and reproductive health issues in fertile and infertile men and women: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

Reproductive health is an integral part of overall health. Sleep disorders and infertility may be reciprocally related. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the association between sleep quality and reproductive health in fertile and infertile men and women.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, the population consists of 736 men and women who visited health centers in Behshahr County and the infertility center at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari in 2024. Four questionnaires were utilized in this study: Socio-Demographic-Medical Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. After data collection, the data were entered into SPSS version 22. If the data distribution was normal, independent two-sample t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were used, and if the data distribution was not normal, nonparametric equivalents, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, were used.

RESULT: The results showed a considerable difference in sleep quality between fertile and infertile individuals, particularly among females. Among infertile females, 65.9 % reported poor sleep quality (PSQI ≥6), compared to 49.6 % of fertile females, which showed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.007). In contrast, although a higher proportion of infertile males (36.8 %) reported poor sleep quality compared to fertile males (29.1 %), this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.077).

CONCLUSION

We found that sleep disturbance and reproductive health are linked. Therefore, it is essential to manage sleep quality in infertile individuals by reproductive health professionals.