AGE AT MARRIAGE AND INFERTILITY AMONG WOMEN IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE

Abstract

Infertility is a public health issue that affects an estimated 72 million people globally. Age of women is a risk factor for infertility and an increasing number of women are delaying marriage to a later age. There is gap in knowledge about the relationship between age at marriage and infertility. This study determined the association between age at first marriage and infertility among women aged 15 to 49 years attending infertility clinics and general out- patient department of Adeoyo Maternity Hospital and University College Hospital of Ibadan North local government area of Oyo State. The design was a hospital based prospective case control in which 150 infertile cases were consecutively recruited and compared with a similar number of consecutively recruited fertile women matched by age and level of education in the general outpatient department at the same hospital. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on socio- demographic information, marriage history, information on risk factors for infertility and sexual behavior. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to score psychological functioning of infertile women. Data were analyzed using chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. The mean age of infertile women (33.0± 6.3) was similar to that of ferule respondents (33.0± 7.2) (p=0.552). Infertile women and fertile respondents were also similar in terms of education (p=0.214). Infertile women showed a significantly higher mean age at first marriage (26.1±5.0) than the fertile respondents (24.4±3.5) (t=3.33. p=0.001). More than half of infertile women had primary infertility and 41.3% had secondary infertility. Among those with secondary infertility, 47.5% had (last) child aged 3-5 years while 44.1 % had last child aged 6-12 years. Respondents that married later than 24 years were about 2 times more likely than respondents that married at age 15-24 years to he infertile (OR: 1.95; 95% Cl: 1.15-3.29). Similarly, respondents who had never been diagnosed of PID were about 3 times more likely to be infertile than those that had ever been diagnosed of PID (OR: 3.12; 95% CI: 1.64-5.95). Majority (78.7%) of infertile respondents exhibited minimal to moderately severe depression while there was absence of anxiety in most (91.8%). Age at marriage is an independent predictor of infertility. Young women should be educated on the most fertile ages of women, empowered with education and jobs earlier in life and provided with adequate information on the risk of infertility if marriage is delayed. Policies should also be made to support women having children while schooling. Psychological therapy should be incorporated in the treatment of infertile women to reduce depression among infertile women.