Evaluation of Infertile Patients Who Attended to Medical Genetics Outpatient Clinic with Hamilton Anxiety Scale

INTRODUCTION: Infertility is an important public health problem for our country due to its high frequency and problems experienced by infertile couples. The aim of our study is to evaluate the infertile patients with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) who attended to Medical Genetic Outpatient Clinic of our hospital and to determine the relationship of the HAM-A with the socio-demographic characteristics.
METHODS: 120 infertile patients of reproductive age who attended our hospital between 01.03.2020-01.07.2020 with unexplained infertility were included in the study. After the ethical committee approval, HAM-A, and a questionnaire containing socio-demographic data were applied to the patients whose informed consent was obtained. The point scale used for the study was shown as follows; 0-5 points for anxiety, 6-14 points for minor anxiety, 15 points, and above for major anxiety. SPSS 22.0 package program was used for analyzing the data. The data were evaluated with descriptive statistics as well as by Pearson chi-square and Mann-Whitney U test. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: The mean age of 120 infertile patients was 33.94±9.89 years. 55.83% of the patients were women. The mean infertile duration of the patients was 5.27±3.64 years. The mean HAM-A score was detected at 20.13±9.98 in women whereas 18.25±8.80 in men. The mean score of the total scale was 19.44±9.85. The total anxiety score was found to be higher in women with those who received infertility treatment previously, with forty years and older, low level of education, with chronic illnesses (in order p=0.002, p=0.000, p=0.023, p=0.001, p=0.003).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Severe anxiety was detected in infertile patients. All infertile cases attended to Outpatient Clinic should be evaluated with anxiety scales and optimum counseling and guidance should be provided to them.

Týbbi Genetik Polikliniði’ne Baþvuran Ýnfertil Olgularýn Hamilton Anksiyete Ölçeði ile Deðerlendirilmesi

GÝRÝÞ ve AMAÇ: Ýnfertilite, sýklýðýnýn yüksek olmasý ve infertil kiþilerin yaþadýðý problemler nedeniyle ülkemiz için önemli bir halk saðlýðý sorunudur. Çalýþmamýzýn amacý, hastanemiz Týbbi Genetik polikliniðine baþvuran infertil olgularý Hamilton Anksiyete Deðerlendirme Ölçeði (HAM-A) ile deðerlendirmek ve HAM-A’nýn sosyo-demografik özelliklerle iliþkisini saptamaktýr.
YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: 01.03.2020-01.07.2020 tarihleri arasýnda hastanemiz Týbbi Genetik Polikliniði’ne açýklanamayan infertilite nedeniyle baþvuran, üreme çaðýndaki, 120 infertil olgu çalýþmaya alýndý. Etik kurul onayý alýndýktan sonra, aydýnlatýlmýþ onamý alýnan olgulara sosyo-demografik verileri içeren anket ve HAM-A uygulandý. 0-5 puan anksiyetenin olmadýðýný, 6-14 puan minör anksiyeteyi, 15 puan ve üzeri majör anksiyeteyi göstermektedir. Verilerin analizi için SPSS 22.0 paket programý kullanýldý. Veriler, tanýmlayýcý istatistiklerin yaný sýra, Pearson ki-kare ve Mann-Whitney U testi ile deðerlendirildi. p<0,05 istatistiksel olarak anlamlý kabul edildi.
BULGULAR: Týbbi Genetik Polikliniði’mize baþvuran 120 infertil olgunun yaþ ortalamasý 33,94±9,89 yýl idi. Olgularýn %55,83’ü kadýndý. Ýnfertil olgularýn ortalama infertil süreleri 5,27±3,64 yýl idi. Kadýnlarda HAM-A puan ortalamasý 20,13±9,98, erkeklerde HAM-A puan ortalamasý 18,25±8,80 tespit edildi. Total ölçek puan ortalamasý 19,44±9,85 idi. Çalýþmaya katýlan kadýnlarda, 40-45 yaþ aralýðýnda olanlarda, daha önce infertilite tedavisi alanlarda, eðitim düzeyi düþük olanlarda, kronik hastalýðý olanlarda anksiyete toplam puanlarý olumsuz yönde yüksek bulunmuþtur (sýrayla p=0,002, p=0,000, p=0,023, p=0,001, p=0,003).
TARTIÞMA ve SONUÇ: Týbbi Genetik Polikliniðine baþvuran infertil olgularda çok þiddetli anksiyete tespit edildi. Týbbi Genetik Polikliniði’ne baþvuran infertil olgular anksiyete yönünden deðerlendirilmeli, anksiyete tespit edilenlere gerekli bilgi, danýþmanlýk ve rehberlik saðlanmalýdýr.