Knowledge of infertility risk factors and attitudes among reproductive-aged individuals in Turkey

Public understanding of infertility risk factors is uneven, and attitudes toward infertility vary across sociodemographic groups. This study assessed knowledge and attitudes among reproductive-aged individuals in Turkey. This study was conducted as a web-based, descriptive, cross-sectional survey between February and March 2025 among 366 participants aged 18–49 years who were reached via WhatsApp and social media. Data were collected using the Demographic Information Form, the Infertility Risk Factors Questionnaire (IRFQ), and the Attitudes Toward Infertility Scale (ATIS). In data analysis, descriptive statistics were used to summarize item-level knowledge distributions from the IRFQ, while group differences in ATIS scores were examined using independent-samples t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc tests. Effect sizes for pairwise comparisons were calculated using Cohen’s d, and the level of statistical significance was set at α = 0.05. A total of 366 participants aged 18–49 years (mean age 30.7 ± 8.8) were included in the study; 55.7% were women, and 60.7% had a university-level education or higher. Awareness was relatively high for psychological (71.9%), hormonal (73.5%), and substance-related infertility risks (tobacco/alcohol/caffeine; 76.0%), and for sexually transmitted infections (66.7%), but lower for occupational (27.0%), environmental (27.9%), technological (32.8%), and lifestyle (20.5%) factors. ATIS scores differed significantly by gender (women > men, p = 0.021), age (younger > older, p = 0.041), marital status (single> married, p = 0.004), and income (higher> lower, p = 0.003); education showed no association (p = 0.293). While several infertility risks are widely recognized, important knowledge gaps persist—particularly in modifiable occupational, environmental, technological, and lifestyle domains. Attitudes vary by key demographics, underscoring the need for targeted, culturally sensitive fertility-literacy interventions.