[Assessment of lifestyle habits of women and men participating in infertility treatment].

Abstract

Introduction: According to WHO data, about 17.5% of adults struggle with fertility problems, both women and men are equally affected. It can also be observed that over the past decades there has been a continuous increase in the number of people in need of infertility treatment, and this trend affects developed/industrialized countries much more. In these decades, our living conditions have also changed, which can be linked to the increase in the number of sterile relationships at several points. Objectives: We know from the literature that being overweight, smoking, alcohol consumption, high levels of untreated stress and even excessive vitamin consumption can negatively affect chances of fertility. The purpose of our study was to determine the extent of the known harmful lifestyle factors exist in couples undergoing infertility treatment. Methods: In our study, we assessed the lifestyle habits of couples applying for in vitro fertilization at our institute between 2020 and 2021, and compared our results descriptively with domestic statistics. 200 couples filled in the questionnaire. The age of the female respondents was 22–46 years, and the age of the men was 23–66 years. Results: 45% of women and 79.2% of men are overweight or obese. 24% of women and 54% of men drink alcohol at least once a week. Every fifth woman (19%) and every fourth man (26%) smoke regularly. In addition to this, only 21.5% of the respondents exercise at least 3 times a week. Our survey also covered our patients’ experience of stress. 27.8% of the participating women and 12.5% of the men claimed to be depressed, while 41% of the women and 15% of the men were stressed due to the difficulties of having children. Discussion and conclusion: According to our survey, the lifestyle risk factors discussed in detail in the literature are also typical in the lives of our patients, and this is a good indication for health awareness and importance of family planning education. The above factors may be partly due to cardiovascular and diabetes problems of the applicants presenting to our institute. Knowing the results, the high consumption of vegetables and fruits among the patients is surprising, and it is important to highlight that many of them use some form of vitamin preparation practically every day. Overall, it can be claimed that our patients have an unfavorable health picture, which fits the data of domestic statistics. Orv Hetil. 2024; 165(36): 1423–1432.