Qom University of Medical Sciences Journal

Background and Objectives: Infertility problem has involved different communities around the world. Psychosocial consequences of infertility affect both infertile men and women. The current study was conducted with the aim of providing required information for health system planners in the health sector and infertility treatment.

Methods: In a meta-analysis study and by use of random-effects models, all Persian and English articles were searched using valid keywords (epidemiology of infertility, infertility, prevalence of infertility). In initial search, 84 articles was available. After reviewing full-text articles, finally 52 articles were selected for analysis. Data were combined using meta-analysis (random effects model).

Results: Based on the studied articles, the total mean of infertility was 10% (95% confidence interval: 8-12). The lowest and highest prevalences of infertility have been reported in Australia and Africa, respectively. Meta-regression scatter plot of infertility prevalence showed that prevalence of infertility increases with increasing the year of research, but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.602).

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, about one-tenth of the world's population suffer from infertility, and infertility trend has been increasing in recent years in most parts of the world.