Psychological effects of infertility in clinical varicocele patients

Objective. The general objective of this study was to analyze the perception and attitude of Clinical varicocele patients treated for infertility at the Shafa Hospital of Kerman, Iran. Method. This is a case control study of 62 infertile patients with Clinical varicocele, they invited to participate to a survey by demographic and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) questionnaires prior to the surgical procedure and compared the results with a control group (50 age matched healthy men), from April 2009 to May 2010 at the Shafa Hospital of Kerman, Iran. Results. In the study group 45% of patients (28/62) said that they used to isolate themselves from the public. 32% (n = 20) patients have doubt about the results of operation, 20% (n = 12) believed operation will cause erectile dysfunction; 16% (n = 10) declared that their infertility problem is mainly due to their wife infertility not themselves; 17.7% (n = 11) of them divorced (regarding to infertility). Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were respectively (28.8 +/– 6.5) and (15.6 +/– 1.7) in the study and control groups (p = 0.001). Conclusions. Clinical varicocele patients have a very negative perception about their condition specially whose primary infertility and in comparing to general population have more depression grades. So, it is strongly recommended that for improve their psychological status by detailing their problem and changing negative perception and attitude to encourage them to follow and continue treatment options.