Date
8-29-2025
Department
School of Health Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences (PhD)
Chair
Beth Sexton
Keywords
Infertility, Lifestyle behaviors, mental health risks, environmental health risks, cross-sectional, quantitative, female infertility, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, chronic illnesses, public awareness, preventive medicine
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health
Recommended Citation
Huang, Richard L., "Associations Between Factors of Unhealthy Lifestyle, Mental Health Issues, Chronic Illnesses, Environmental Health Risks, and Infertility in Females: A Cross-Sectional Study" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7370.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7370
Abstract
Infertility has risen rapidly in recent decades and has become the third-largest public health concern in the world. It has significantly threatened individuals’ psychological, physical, and social well-being, and it could be an early sign of severe health problems in the future. Furthermore, it also threatens the continuation of life and human civilization. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between individuals’ daily lifestyle behaviors, mental health status, chronic conditions, environmental health factors, and infertility by using cross-sectional quantitative methods. It benefits the public as the study raised awareness of potential risks and provided guidance to avoid infertility in an early stage of prevention. This study used the public survey data from the official NHANES website, which was collected through interviews, questionnaires, laboratory tests, and physical examinations. It conducted Chi-Square and logistic regression analyses using the SPSS 30.0 premium software to determine the association and the log-odds among these variables. The statistical results demonstrated that most of the variables in unhealthy lifestyles, mental health disorders, chronic illnesses, and environmental risk factors have associations with female infertility. A few variables were not statistically significant due to the low prevalence of some diseases among the US reproductive-aged female population. These findings provided valuable information for the community health program, assisted the medical intervention, contributed to future research, and raised awareness among individuals of lifestyle behavioral changes to reduce the risk of female infertility.
