the etiology of infertility in couples referred to da nang hospital for women and children

Background & objective: infertility is a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. this study was conducted with aim to determine the causes of infertility in couples referred to da nang hospital for women and children. materials & methods: this cross-sectional descriptive study included 512 reproductive-age couples diagnosed with infertility and treated at da nang hospital for women and children from august 2018 to august 2020. inclusion criteria were couples who were not able to get pregnant despite having frequent unprotected sexual intercourse for at least one year. if the women aged over 35 years, this period is considered six months. exclusion criteria were the men's refusal to participate in the study or cannot collect semen for analysis. results: the mean age of the men and women was 31.0±4.4 years and 33.5±5.0 years, respectively. primary infertility accounted for 70.9%, whereas secondary infertility was only 29.1%. the mean duration of infertility was 3.0±2.5 years. male factor infertility accounted for the highest rate (39.6%), followed by female infertility (30.5%). infertility due to both male and female factors was 18.0%. among the causes of male infertility, abnormal semen analysis accounted for the highest rate (57.6%), followed by varicocele (19.3%). among the abnormalities of semen parameters, oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia (oat) represented the highest rate (37.5%). there were 46 cases (9.0%) of azoospermia. among causes of female factor infertility, endometriosis accounted for the highest rate (17.6%), followed by pcos (15.6%). there were 51 cases (9.9%) of diminished ovarian reserve. conclusion: male factor infertility accounted for the highest rate in this study. among the causes of male infertility, abnormal semen analysis had the highest rate. endometriosis and pcos were common causes of female infertility.